


And Straight On Til Morning

by BT__949



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Astoria - Freeform, Carly Rae Jepsen - Freeform, Cross-Posted on Wattpad, Crossover, Ever After - Freeform, F/M, Gen, Marianas Trench - Freeform, Masterpiece Theatre, Multi, Original Character(s), Songfic, phantoms
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-18
Updated: 2020-01-10
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:46:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 24
Words: 32,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21749236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BT__949/pseuds/BT__949
Summary: A Mileven fanfic based around the Marianas Trench Cinematic UniverseNote: despite this being based off Marianas Trench music, I won't use Forget Me Not (Astoria) because of its meaningAnother note: Porting in from wattpad and Bear, please stand by: I will fix broken formatting soon!
Relationships: Eleven | Jane Hopper/Mike Wheeler, Maxine "Max" Mayfield/Lucas Sinclair
Comments: 5
Kudos: 9





	1. Eleonora

**Monday, 1984-10-28**

_19:15_

As usual, after dinner, Mike helped to clean up and then rushed downstairs to his basement. He hoped that tonight would be the night - the night he found out that El was safe after all. However, he had been trying for long enough that there was next to no hope left.

He made his way to the den he built her when she was in hiding from the bad men. He hoped, if she was still out there, that she would go back Mike’s house, to the den - back into Mike’s open arms.

His SuperCom was already there, as he had dumped it in there after getting in from school. He quickly grabbed it, extended the antennae and twiddled the knobs a bit - he wanted to ensure that no one was going to interfere with him.

 _”Hey, El... Do you hear me?”_ Mike whispered, trying to find any sign that she was alive. All he wanted was a response, a simple yes, just anything.   
He tweaked the knobs on his SuperCom desperately _”Do you hear me now?”_

There was nothing he wanted more than a sign. _”On a midnight dreary ... day 351”_   
He had to stop and take a moment, for he'd already been waiting forever and a day for her to return. Despite his lack of hope, he would try everyday, ensuring to never forget how long it had been since she disappeared. He made sure to always try at the same time every day, if she was out there, she would always know when he would try to speak to her. And every day, she did; At 19:15 she was always on her bed with her blindfold - just waiting for him.

She reached out - trying to touch him, but she couldn't; Not today, not ever. She had been begging hopper for months for the ability to see Mike; But for now, this was the closest she could get to him.

 _”Just hush”_ she said, talking at Mike. Typically, she got nothing in response. Her mind wandered into wondering if he could feel her presence.

Meanwhile, the static on Mike’s radio changed slightly, not much to an untrained ear, but mike knew something was up   
_”El, is... is that you?”_ Maybe he could feel her. Maybe he was extrapolating relatively inconsequential changes in the past few seconds into something much bigger.

El’s face suddenly contained a smile at the thought that maybe he could feel her around him.   
_”Mike?”_ She whispered into his ear   
_”I’m here”_ A few moments passed with no reply. Maybe it was ‘co-in-cid-ence’; Hopper had taught her that word, as he did with many other words.

When Mike got no response, or so he thought, he huffed then slammed the antennae of his SuperCom down before throwing the device into the back of El’s den. The den had remained intact, despite constant pleas from friends and family, as he wanted to keep it in hopes she would come home. He didn’t know that she was, really frequently.

Mike laid himself down in the den, trying his best not to cry. His efforts were futile as soon enough he had started crying, much to El’s despair; Over the past 350 days she had seen him cry too many times, so it didn’t take long until El too was crying.

El sat on her bed for a moment, crying along with him before pulling her blindfold off and throwing it across the room. She tried her best to clean her tears up before leaving her bedroom.

 _”You visited him again, didn’t you”_ Jim asked as she walked into the room and sat down on the sofa. There were no words, she just nodded, before starting to cry again. He sat there, feeling defeated, as usual. No matter how many times he told her not to visit she went anyway.

He looked over to the clock on the other side of the room, before turning back to El   
_”I think it’s time for one of those soaps you love so much, isn’t it?”_ He asked, trying to change the subject. El wasn’t all that bothered, not tonight. She had been upset after visiting before, but tonight, something was just different - it was like they’d got closer to each other than they ever had in the past.

Hop changed the channel on the TV, hoping to divert El’s attention. She glanced at the set, turning it back again.   
_”Hey!_ he shouted.   
_”That’s at Eight-Three-Zero. It’s Seven-Three-Zero”_ she told him before going back to her room. Hop reverted to looking defeated.

El briskly placed the blindfold over her eyes and tied it up, before returning to the void to try and make contact with Mike again. However, when she realised what she was watching, she gasped and then pulled her blindfold straight off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Try imagining the great smile on my face when I came up with the chapter name.


	2. While We’re Young

**(Day 357) Sunday, 1984-11-04**

After Hop and El got back from closing the gate, Mike requested that Hop let him see El soon. Reluctantly, he agreed, they could meet the following week, as he needed some time to sort some things out first. When Mike first mentioned the idea, Jim didn’t want to agree, but as usual, Joyce talked him into agreeing to it. She could see there was something between El and Mike, she knew it was more than just mere friendship.

A short time later, when both Mike and El were out of the way, Hop decided to voice a _minor_ concern to Joyce   
_”Hey Joyce, if they’re going to start meeting up - doing god knows what, could you maybe give El the... umm”_ Hop took a moment, just to ensure he was asking the correct thing of her, but she already knew what was coming   
_”You haven’t given her the talk, so you want me to do it, don’t you?”_ she asked. Much to her disdain, Hop nodded his head, with an almost confused look.   
_”I’ll do it, it’s for her own good. She’ll need to hear it eventually.”_ she said with a sigh.   
_”Next Saturday, your cabin, 11am”_ she finished, not giving him a chance to interject.

**(Day 365) Monday, 1984-11-12**

_"I need to go out, El, I’ll be back shortly"_ he shouted, before a quiet voice shouted _"okay"_ back at him. She had no idea that Mike and Hop had agreed on a visit, which Hop thought was for the best.

He jumped into his car and drove over to the Wheeler’s house, knocked the door and asked for Mike. After explaining to Karen that, no, Mike was not in trouble, they just “needed to discuss the recent events”, she called Mike down.

As soon as he saw Jim at the door he darted out of the house and over to the car. He had hardly slept all night trying to figure out what to say to her. Then, while in the car, it hit him like a brick: Nearly one year ago, he promised to take her to the snowball but her disappearance put his plans on hold. Therefore, today was going to be the day that he asked El.

But first, he needed Jim’s approval; there was no way El was going without his permission.   
_”Umm, Hop?”_   
_”What’s up kid?”_ the confused Hop asked   
_”Could I t-take E-El to the snowball?“_ Mike stuttered, having no idea what the response was going to be 

_”The Snowball... Where and When?”_ Hop asked; Secretly, he knew, but just wanted to push Mike a bit anyway.   
_”Hawkins Middle Gym. 7pm until 10pm on Saturday, 15th of December”_ Mike told him   
_”It’s one night, it’ll be nice for her”_ Mike continued   
_”Fine... I think we can make it work.”_ He told Mike _”For ONE night only”_

Mike opened his mouth and went to thank him, but was interrupted   
_”With some conditions: No touching, no hugging and CERTAINLY no kissing”_ Mike was not surprised, he had a feeling he would face some resistance. However, Mike knew that the rules would get broken, but decided to be polite and just smile and nod anyway.

A few moments later, they arrived near Jim’s cabin, where Mike was told to stay slightly behind and mind the tripwire.

When they arrived at the door, Jim did their secret knock and El unlocked the door. He then moved back slightly to allow Mike to get in.

When El saw Mike stood in the doorway, she immediately ran over and hugged him. Hop went to open his mouth but realised he would be wasting his breath - he wasn’t going to separate them.

Then, before they knew it, both Mike and El were in tears, similar to their reunion just over a week prior.   
_”Thank you, Hop”_ she managed to say, whilst trying to compose herself; Hop smiled, realising that he had done the right thing by letting them see each other.

 _”Can we sit?”_ El asked Mike - all this reuniting had made her weak. Mike nodded, so El took his hand and led him into her bedroom.   
_”You can _sit_ on the bed, but that door stays open”_ Hop shouted, pointing at the teens.   
_”Yes Chief”_ Mike shouted before taking a seat next to El.

 _”You said you called for 353 days... Mike, I heard, I was there - I sat next to you every night”_ El told him after they’d both gotten comfortable.   
_”I knew it! I could feel something there, I toyed with the idea that it was you but I thought it was impossible”_ a very shocked Mike replied.

He then proceeded to sit deep in thought for a moment or two, before asking her a question   
_”El, I’ve been so lost without you. Are you lost without me too?”_ Surely if she listen to him calling for 353 days then she’d feel the same back!   
_”Yes, of course; I listened every night Mike”_ she assured him.

 _”Just promise me you won’t leave again? Not like last time at least; I thought it was the last goodbye. But that isn’t what we’re here for”_ Mike didn’t want to be split up again; He knew how he felt about her inside, he just didn’t have the courage to say anything yet.

 _”I’ll try Mike, but I had to destroy it.”_ she alerted him   
_”You did good. I think one year of suffering was worth it to get rid of the Demogorgon”_ they both agreed. It was a necessary sacrifice to protect the town.

 _”There’s also something else I need to ask”_ Mike started, before glancing over at Hop, who was visibly listening in   
_”Before you disappeared, I promised you I would take you to the snowball”_ El raised one eyebrow, confused as to what was happening - she remembered the idea, so nodded anyway.   
_”Is there a chance that you’d like to go with me?”_ he asked. When El realised that this might be the idea of a ‘date’ that Joyce mentioned, she got very excited, to Mike’s surprise.   
_”Yes, of course I will. If that’s okay with Hop?”_ El didn’t realise that he was listening to them until he shouted _”Go ahead”_ at her; This only made her more excited...

**Tuesday, 1984-12-18**

After school, Mike immediately headed over to El’s house, Making sure Hop wasn’t in on his approach (They’d been trying to get alone time, but it was difficult.) Over the past couple of days he had been working up the courage to ask El something. When he arrived, he decided against doing Jim’s knock and instead just quietly told her through the door that it was him. The door opened immediately when she heard his voice.

When they had gotten themselves settled, they went and sat down on El’s bed, like they did when they met previously. However, El could tell that something wasn’t right about Mike today.   
_”Something is wrong, Mike, I can tell”  
_ _”I was just thinking about Hop and how we can’t see each other often.”_ Mike started, not being completely truthful about what was on his mind   
_“You know, El, while we’re young... th-”_ he continued before El cut him off   
_”This should be the time of our lives? Yes, Joyce told me”_ Mike looked shocked, but agreed, before she started talking again   
_”Is there anything else on your mind?”_

 _”You got me...”_ he began, trying not to make his intentions too clear   
_”I wanna hear how your heart speaks”_ She sat with a confused look in silence for a moment, not understanding what he was trying to get at.   
_”I’m sorry?”_ she replied, still confused at his statement.   
_”Oh... I didn’t mean to actually say that...”_ he lied 

_”Mike, friends don’t lie“_ she could see right through him and his lies and he knew it. Little did he know she’d already overheard some of this before.   
_”Fine. I was trying to ask if you’d... you know... be my g-girlfriend”_ her eyes went wide when she processed what had been said   
_”Of course I will”_ She told him excitedly before grabbing him for a big hug.

They continued sitting and talking for around a half hour before they realised Mike needed to leave to avoid getting caught by Hop.   
_”I ... Umm...”_ Mike began, before briefly drifting back to silence 

_”I’ll see you soon”_ He told her, whilst internally kicking himself. El nodded and waved as he left the cabin, whilst wondering what he was intending to say.


	3. “Christmas”

**Thursday, 1984-12-20**

_”El, could you come here for a moment and help me with these boxes”_ Hop shouted. El rushed out of her bedroom and into the small lounge where Hop was knelt over a hatch to the basement.   
_”What are you doing?”_ She asked, while reading the label on the box: ‘Christmas’

 _”I remembered we needed to put these up, but I’ve got to go to work to sort stuff before the holidays, so I want you to decorate the cabin ready for Christmas while I’m out”_ El nodded, before looking at the boxes and trying to comprehend everything the she needed to do.   
_”You can call the Wheeler kid and ask him to come round to help?”_ He didn’t have to ask her twice, she immediately nodded so Hop picked up the phone and called the Wheelers When Mike answered, he passed the phone to El 

_”Mike, do you want to come over and help me decorate for Christmas”_ Mike quickly answered yes before grabbing his coat and jumping on his bike.

Mike rushed round, he adored the thought of spending time with his girlfriend while also having fun decorating. He was even happier due to actually being invited.

He knocked the door to find Hop waiting inside. Hop explained what they were to do, reiterated the rules and then left.

 _”Well, where should we start?”_ El asked, she was overwhelmed as she had never had to decorate for Christmas before. Mike pointed at the box containing Hopper’s fake tree. Mike opened the top of the box, then El lifted the tree out and laid it down on the floor.

 _”Is it alive?”_ She asked, confused as to why the tree nearly the size of her was inside.   
_”No, it’s fake, it was never alive, it’s plastic”_ he explained whilst tipping the box up to try to find the feet for the tree. _”Ah!”_ he exclaimed when he found them hidden under some reading material.

El looked around again _”Now what do we do?”_ Before she had finished, Mike found a box of fairy lights and some small silver and gold baubles.   
_”We make the tree look pretty”_ He told her. She quickly grasped the task, but struggled slightly with wrapping the lights around the tree.

 _”Can I turn the lights on, Mike?”_ she asked, excitedly.   
_”Of course you can”_ the was no way he could deny that. When El flipped the switch, she was excited to see the tree light up, with all of the baubles reflecting the light.

They then continued to decorate the cabin, with all new things to El like tinsel, paper chains and little coloured beads. El’s powers, of course, made everything much easier.

 _”So El, what would you like for Christmas?”_ he asked his girlfriend, hoping someone had explained the concept of Christmas to her. He was relieved when she responded   
_”I’d like a SuperCom, so I can talk to you and everyone else”_ he nodded, taking a mental note of her reply.   
_”What would you like, Mike”_ She enquired   
_”I think I’ve got the best early Christmas present I could’ve asked for”_ he told her; however she looked confused. _”You, El. You came back home; It’s the best present I’ve ever had”_

 _”Miiike, really? What do you really want?”_ she giggled.   
_”You really don’t have to get me anything!”_ he told her. She would have to ask Hop to help her find something or maybe she could speak to Dustin or Nancy as they might be more useful.

Meanwhile, Mike wondered how he would source a SuperCom with only 8 days until Christmas? He didn’t quite know yet, but he needed to find out.

**Tuesday, 1984-12-22**

After Mike had finished his breakfast, he ran upstairs to his room and counted his money... $25 - nowhere enough for a SuperCom for El; He was going to get it even if it meant borrowing money from Nancy, he knew she’d understand though.

He then started looking for the RadioShack catalogue that he was adamant was in his room. When he found it, he started flipping through until he found the SuperCom: $60

Mike took a deep breath; luckily, Nancy was home. He walked over to her room and knocked the door, he heard her put the phone down before opening the door and asking what he wanted   
_”I’d really love to be able to get El a Christmas present, but I don’t have enough money for it”_ he complained

 _”Let me think...”_ she began _”Tell me if you and El are a thing and maybe I’ll let you have the money.”_   
Mike looked slightly worried for a moment   
_”Yes, we’ve been a thing for a few days now”_ he reluctantly told her.

 _”How much do you need”_ she asked   
_”$40 please”_ He told her sheepishly. She nodded, then quickly dug the money out and sent him in his way. She too could see how important El was to him, so was intending on letting him have the money even if they weren’t a thing yet.

He breathed a sigh of relief; knowing he could get his girlfriend exactly what she wanted. He shouted thanks to Nancy before racing out of the house with his bike.

After some time, he arrived at RadioShack. It was going to be odd going in now that Bob was gone. He dropped his bike outside and then entered; Luckily there was no queue.

Quickly, he asked for a SuperCom and the employee disappeared into the back before returning, SuperCom in hand.   
_”Is there anything else you’d like?”_ he asked   
_”Can I have a pack of Double-A’s please”_ Mike responded, knowing there was no way Hop would have spare batteries lying around.   
_”That’ll be $64 please”_ Mike handed over the money, happy in the knowledge that his girlfriend would be impressed.

After collecting his receipt and change, he darted back to his bike, picking it up and placing the SuperCom and batteries in the basket.

Immediately after he got home, he found the wrapping paper and some scissors before getting to work on wrapping it all up. When he finished, he ran down to his basement and placed it neatly under the tree with his gifts for the rest of the party. It was now tradition for the party to exchange gifts around that tree after Christmas dinner.

**Friday, 1984-12-25**

_13:00_

Mike sat in the lounge, desperately waiting for the doorbell to ring so he could be with El. Whomever was more excited was questionable, El was excited about her first proper Christmas with her friends and family, but Mike was excited over getting to show El what a proper Christmas was like.

Eventually, Mike heard the doorbell ring, so shot up from his seat to go and welcome Hop and El.   
_”Hey El”_ he said, greeting her with a hug. Hop didn’t look vastly impressed, but he knew he couldn’t complain - it was Christmas, after all.

 _”Are you ready for your first proper Christmas?”_ Mike excitedly asked his girlfriend.   
_”I can’t wait”_ she told him, somehow managing to match his excitement. He let her take off her coat and shoes before leading her down to the basement. Hop continued with his glaring, which Mike blissfully ignored.

 _”Dinner will be ready at 3pm, Mike”_ Karen shouted when she saw them heading down to the basement.

 _”So Mike, how has your Christmas morning been?”_   
_”It’s been great, it’s even better now you’re here”_ he told her as he sat down on the couch, before she cuddled up next to him.

Before dinner, they sat and played with Mike’s presents and talked, which then continued after dinner whilst waiting for the party to arrive.

_18:50_

_”So then El, are you enjoying Christmas?”_ Mike asked his girlfriend.   
_”Yes, of course - It’s been great”_ she responded, still really excited   
_”Well, the party will be here imminently, so we can share some more presents“_ he informed her

Then, almost as if Mike had seen then coming, the party arrived, before quickly going downstairs to where Mike and El were waiting. When El saw them coming down the stairs, she hopped off from Mike’s knee and onto the couch.   
_”Alright, lovebirds”_ Dustin joked when he got down the stairs with his hand over his eyes   
_”Is it safe to look?”_ he mocked, before removing his hand to be greeted with Mike’s middle finger.

 _”Presents?”_ El asked, managing to ignore everything taking place around her.   
_”Yes, let’s do it”_ Will replied.

The party gathered around the tree and started handing out presents. They progressed through each person until all the presents had been given out. Apart from one, which was still under the tree.   
Mike picked it up, and handed it to El   
_”Here’s mine, for you El”_ she quickly started unwrapping it. Mike could hear Lucas and Max whispering, trying to guess what it was; Their suggestions quickly got inappropriate.   
_”Hmm, I think I can guess, but I won’t say anything”_ Will said, having figured it out.

Eventually, El broke through the wrapping paper and found herself with a SuperCom and box of batteries.   
_”Mike! That’s wonderful. Thank you”_ she exclaimed loudly. So loud, that Nancy could hear her from at the top of the stairs.

 _”Knew it”_ Will reported   
_”Nice, you’re a proper member of the party now”_ Dustin told her   
_”How did you find the money for that?”_ Lucas whispered into Mike’s ear. For now, Mike ignored him.

 _”Show me how?”_ El asked them politely and they all quickly obliged.

 _”Kids, snacks are ready”_ Karen shouted from the top of the stairs. Dustin jumped up and ran, closely followed by the rest of the party.

_22:00_

When the party left, Mike and El headed back down to the basement. She was staying the night as Hop was in no state to drive home.

They both cuddled back down onto Mike’s couch, this time with a blanket that Mike had procured from upstairs.

 _”So did you enjoy Christmas, El?”_ he enquired   
_”Yes, it was great. Thank you Mike”_ she said, before letting out a huge yawn.   
_”Go to sleep if you’d like, I don’t mind”_ Mike didn’t have to tell her twice, the next thing he knew, she was sleeping.


	4. “New Year”

**Monday, 1984-12-31**

Somehow, El and Mike managed to talk Hop into allowing El to go to Mike’s little New Year gathering. Granted, it was only the party that would be there, but it was a win nonetheless.

_20:50_

Mike sat around waiting for El and the party to arrive. He had told El 21:00 and the party 21:15, so he could get El prepared for another first: her first New Year’s Night.

Unsurprisingly, she arrived a little earlier than anticipated, not like that was a problem, however.

Mike quickly went through the plans with her: the rest of the party would arrive imminently, then there would be food and a small shindig before finally counting down to the new year at midnight.

Initially, El was somewhat confused by the desire to celebrate a new year, that meant growing up and that meant change - something she didn’t take to very well. Mike soon reassured her it was all just a bit of fun.

_23:50_

_”10 Minutes to go!”_ Dustin shouted excitedly. The group started scurrying around, getting ready to welcome in the new year.   
Will tuned the television, ensuring that they would be able to watch the celebrations from the comfort of Mike’s basement.

Mike, however, had other plans: he and El were going to sneak out away from the party and go to count down and then watch the town’s firework celebration from afar.   
The main reason he wanted to sneak away was because he wanted to kiss her at midnight - there was no way he was going to do it in front of everyone else; It could be questioned if they even knew that Mike and El were in a relationship.

_23:59:50_

_”Ten”_ The party began their countdown, preparing to usher in 1985!   
_”Nine... Eight... Seven... Six... Five... Four... Three... Two... One!”_   
_”Happy new year!”_ The group exclaimed excitedly. Dustin and Will set off their party-poppers sending confetti everywhere. Despite the mess, they insisted on bringing them as _”It wouldn’t be new year without confetti!”_

But something was missing, Dustin thought. He looked around the room trying to figure out what it was...   
El and Mike!

 _”Guys, where are the lovebirds?”_ Dustin asked   
_”They’re probably sucking face somewhere“_ Lucas teased   
_”Likely”_ Max agreed. _”Let’s all hide, so they’re confused when they eventually reappear”_ Will proposed, hoping it would teach them not to disappear to suck face again.   
The party found various places around the basement to hide: behind couches, under tables and got to work being as quiet as possible, waiting for El and Mike to return.

Mike and El, meanwhile, were outside looking up at the distant fireworks. They stood in each other’s embrace whilst counting down the seconds. When they eventually reached zero, El looked at Mike as if to question what happened next. Quickly though, she got an answer to her question as Mike began to lean in. She promptly realised what was going on and so reciprocated.

When they pulled away, they stood for a moment just to watch the last of the fireworks and to admire their mostly calm surroundings.   
_”This is why I wanted to bring you out here; It’s wonderful, isn’t it?”_ Mike asked his girlfriend, who was enjoying their minor excursion.   
_”Yes, it is, a bit like you”_ she replied, making him blush slightly, before returning to admiring her surroundings.

**Tuesday, 1985-01-01**

_00:03_

After a short time, El and Mike started to head back to Mike’s basement, unaware of what they were going to encounter...   
When they arrived, they were shocked! Had the party really left already? That was horribly unlike them to want to be gone so quickly - especially when there was still food upstairs.   
_”Dustin? Lucas? Max?”_ Mike shouted, El staying close behind him just in case.

Just when they were starting to get concerned that everyone had gone home, they all jumped from their hiding places, shocking Mike so much he nearly fell over.

 _”What the fuck, guys?”_ Mike exclaimed.   
_”We could ask the same thing?”_ Max commented.   
_”Can this wait until the morning?”_ Mike asked. Reluctantly, the rest of the party nodded in agreement and continued about enjoying their small shindig.

_00:45_

Sooner or later, the group started to wear tired, so decided to begin to settle down for bed. Mike had arranged with his parents to borrow some sleeping mats and the party, bar El, brought their own sleeping bags with them.   
As El didn’t have a sleeping bag, and there was no way her and Mike were sharing a bed, let alone Mike’s bag, they decided to break Hop’s rules and settle on the couch together with some blankets. Despite their rather odd arrangement, they fell to sleep almost immediately.

_10:15_

Eventually, Mike awoke, closely followed by El, as she was mostly over him.   
Their movement sparked a chain and soon enough, everyone was awake.

 _”Shit, that’s the longest I’ve slept in ages”_ Lucas informed the group. Unlike Mike and El, Max was not over Lucas and managed to stay on her own mat.

Dustin looked around, soon spotting the entanglement that had occurred overnight between Mike and El. Quietly, he whispered a comment to Will, who promptly laughed, gaining everyone’s attention.

 _”Is there something you’d like to share with the group?”_ Max enquired   
_”No, not really”_ Dustin chuckled, before considering his statement and correcting it, whilst looking towards Mike and El _”Well, not the whole group at least”_

When Mike eventually caught on to what was being said, he whispered something to El whom briskly sat up and shifted across the couch, causing Dustin to laugh even more.

 _”Yes, Dustin, is there something you’d like to share?”_ Mike asked sarcastically   
_”Maybe, Mike, you two should be sharing something with us?”_ he quipped, waggling his finger in the direction of the couple who were now separated by all of about six inches.

Dustin’s comments caused Will, Lucas, and Max to erupt into fits of laughter.   
_”You two have been rather close recently, especially since Christmas”_ Lucas commented. Mike and El both looked at each other, not really knowing what to say.   
_”Just say it for fuck’s sake. We’re not stupid”_ Max proclaimed. The couple started having a conversation, almost as if to decide whether to tell the party what they seemingly already knew.   
_”We won’t leave until you tell us”_ Will added, with everyone else nodding in agreement.

Quickly, El and Mike came to a decision: they were going to tell their friends, primarily based on the fact that they had already figured out that they were together anyway.

 _”Yes, we are a thing”_ El notified them, hoping that ultimately, they wouldn’t be too bothered.   
_”So you were out sucking face at midnight then!”_ Lucas concluded, causing Mike and El to look at each other again.   
_”They totally were”_ Dustin agreed. This time, no form of agreement from the couple. To attempt to end the tough conversation, Mike began to offer breakfast to his friends, knowing it would shut them up for 15 minutes or so - by which time they would have to leave anyway.


	5. Tiny Little Bows

**Thursday, 1985-02-07**

Mike sat around in his basement, slightly confused as to what to do with himself; Yes, he could do his homework, but he didn’t want to.   
He looked at his calendar, trying to figure out when he could next see El. He panicked when he saw that Valentine’s Day was only one week away and he had nothing planned.

He proceeded to think about what he could do, what he could get his girlfriend for Valentine’s Day. A card? Chocolate? Some other present?   
They’d have to do something in the cabin since El wasn’t really allowed to leave.   
They’d made being confined to the cabin work up until now, but Mike really wanted to spoil her with a nice meal somewhere.

Mike, still unsure of what to do, decided to go and ask someone with experience: Nancy.   
As he walked up from the basement to her room, he considered what he should say.

 _”What’s up?”_ Nancy asked, looking mildly inconvenienced.   
_”Well, it’s Valentine’s Day next week and I don’t know what to do for it”_ Mike quietly informed her.   
_”Ooh, okay”_ she responded, suddenly interested.   
_”You can’t take her out for a meal, can you?”_ She confirmed, before taking a moment that consider Mike’s options. _”Definitely get her a card”_ she told him

 _”And chocolate?”_ Mike asked, he already knew he had to get a card - he wasn’t as oblivious as Nancy thought he was.   
_”Yes, what does she like”_ Nancy pondered, taking a sip of her water.   
_”She just likes chocolate, if it’s hard, brown and sweet, then she’ll take it”_ Mike proudly announced, causing Nancy to laugh and spit out her drink.   
_”I’m sorry?”_ she asked.   
_”She likes chocolate, what’s wrong with that?”_ Mike queried obliviously.

 _”You should think twice before you speak, Mike”_ Nancy cautioned him.   
_”She likes fucking chocolate, okay?”_ Mike insisted, wanting to change the subject when he realised what she was getting at; but still not thinking twice about the words coming out of his mouth.   
_”Sure... let’s go with that. But there must be something more”_ Nancy thought out loud, while trying not to laugh at Mike’s sad attempt at cleaning up his accidental double entendre

The siblings continued discussions for a while before Nancy had an important question for Mike: _”Does she know what Valentine’s Day is?”_ she asked.   
_”You raise an good point”_ he responded.   
_”You should find out then”_ she directed him _”If she doesn’t, you can explain, yes?”_.   
Mike nodded, knowing that nobody would’ve bothered explaining, but maybe she’d heard of it through her soaps.

With all of that in mind, Mike headed out, intending to purchase the perfect card for her. He would get the chocolate closer to the time so that he wouldn’t be tempted to eat it all. It would, however, be nice to see what they had - so that he would have time to decide on which chocolate to get her.

_Some time later_

When he arrived home, he decided to see if she was around, so picked up his SuperCom. He was, however, beaten to it, as El was already calling for him.

 _”You alright?”_ Mike asked, relieving El   
_”Yeah, where were you?”_ she enquired   
_”I was at the shop, getting some stuff for next week”_ he told her, not wanting to reveal too much   
_”What’s next week?”_ she asked, confused   
_”Well, next Thursday is Valentine’s Day”_ he notified her

 _”Valentine’s Day?”_ she questioned, still confused - signalling to Mike that she had no clue about it and that he would have to explain   
_”It’s this weird holiday where couples get each other cards and presents and crap”_ he attempted to explain _”I’ve never celebrated it before though, so I’m not sure”_

 _”So do we celebrate it?”_ she probed   
_”I think so”_ he truthfully told her _”We are a couple, so I think we should”_   
_”Okay, great, I’ll see you next week”_ she decreed, before putting away her SuperCom

**Thursday, 1985-02-14**

Mike began his journey from school over to Hop’s cabin, making a quick stop home to collect El’s card and chocolate.

After some time, he arrived at the cabin, luckily, Hop was still out working and wouldn’t be back for a while yet. Therefore, Mike crept up to the door, hoping to surprise his girlfriend.   
On getting to the door he did his special knock and so the door got unlocked. He opened it to find El stood there, slightly confused as to why he would show up unannounced on a Thursday.   
_”Hey El”_ he cooed happily.   
_”Hey”_ She softly replied, moving away from the door to allow him to enter fully.

 _”I got you some stuff, for Valentine’s Day”_ he told her. It took El a few moments to connect the dots, but she eventually remembered what Valentine’s Day was, and how she’d forgotten to get anything for Mike.   
_”You didn’t have t-”_ she attempted to assure.   
_”But I did, so here you go”_ he interrupted, handing the neatly wrapped presents and card over to his excited girlfriend.

Knowing better than to just go straight for the presents, she began to open the card.   
Eventually, she managed to get the card out. He had purchased a pastel pink one with roses on it and “Happy Valentine’s Day” in large cursive writing.

 _”It’s beautiful Mike”_ she decreed _”Thank you”_   
_”It’s no problem. You are my girlfriend, after all.”_ he inspirited

 _”But Mike, I didn’t get you anything. I’m sorry”_ she quivered, hoping he wouldn’t be upset   
_”It’s fine, it really is”_ he assured her.   
_”No, it isn’t. I didn’t even get you a card. I’m sorry”_ she reiterated.   
_”Don’t be sorry, it’s hardly possible for you to get anything, so I’m not bothered”_ he began _”And plus, fewer cards and presents means more time for just us to enjoy”_ El agreed because she loved spending time with Mike alone.

As usual, they continued ‘talking’ until 16:30, when Mike had to leave to ensure he avoided Hop. They bode each other farewell and El went and stood Mike’s card on her dresser before putting the chocolate in the fridge.


	6. Shut Up and Kiss Me

**Sunday, 1985-03-03**

Mike and El sat on the couch in the cabin watching one of El’s favourite soaps; Usually, Mike wouldn’t have been able to tolerate watching them, but El made them infinitely better.

Unfortunately for Mike, the show they were watching was known for getting slightly intense on occasions; He had read in the newspaper’s TV guide that today’s episode was one of those occasions and he was unsure how El would react, especially with him sat there.

He dreaded the scene showing up: What if El asked questions about the characters’ kissing? What if she wanted to try kissing like the characters?   
His thoughts were starting to distract him from what he was in the cabin to do: spend time with his girlfriend.

He was then distracted from his distraction by El and what was taking place on the television screen.   
_”Mike, what are they doing?”_ She innocently asked in the middle of a _mildly intense_ kissing scene that possibly shouldn’t have been on freely available television at that hour.

 _”They’re... Umm... kissing?”_ he replied as honestly as he could.   
_”Yeah, but why do they do it like that”_ she asked.   
_”I don’t know, El. I guess it makes them feel... closer or whatever”_ he told her, not wanting to ruin her mind too much.   
_”Can we do it, so we can get closer?”_   
_”If you really want to”_ he informed her _”But I don’t think people our age are supposed to though”_   
_”But why?”_ she enquired

 _”I don’t know, I guess people just think people our age aren’t ready or something; that we’re not.. mature and can’t make decisions for ourselves”_ he rambled   
_”But I want to, although you can tell me no if you want”_ she tried to bargain with him to get her way   
_”What if I don’t want to say no?”_ he questioned with a devious smile on his face   
_”Come on then Mike, we’ve kissed normally before so why don’t we kiss like that?”_ she pushed, pointing at the television, whilst doing a pouty face

 _”You know what, I think we’ve been together for long enough that it’ll be fine”_ he told her _”But only if you’re ready”_   
_”Mike, I’m ready so kiss me”_ she instructed her now-excited boyfriend   
_”Are you sure?”_ he questioned in response. In his mind, he wanted to, but he knew he shouldn’t just give in - she needed to know that moving further like this wasn’t something they should do quickly.   
_”I know you want to Mike, just shut up and ki-”_

And so he did: they both started moving closer until their lips met. When they encountered the time that they would usually pull apart, they remained close - Mike gently moving his lips off hers before placing them back.   
They continued for a small amount of time longer, but then moved apart to reflect on what just happened.

 _”Mike”_ El gasped, frozen in awe over what just took place   
_”E—E-El”_ Mike stuttered with his cheeks filled with a tomato red colouring.   
_”That was”_ she remained in awe whilst trying to search for the correct word _”wonderful”_   
They both sat still for a moment, still trying to process what had just happened.

 _”Can we do it again?”_ Mike bravely asked. Now he had gotten used to what they were doing, he didn’t want to stop.   
_”O-Of course we can”_ she stuttered in reply.

And therefore, they both leaned in again, then did the same thing as last time. It was like they’d been doing it their whole lives. This time, however, their kiss continued much longer - until, in fact, they both struggled for air and had to pull apart slightly. Not that running out of air was going to keep them away from each other too long.

 _”I think I understand why people do it now”_ El realised after sitting for a moment and catching her breath   
_”Why, El?”_ her boyfriend asked inquisitively   
_”It just... hmm”_ she rapidly tried to think of a word to describe what she felt   
_”Feels great?”_ Mike asked   
_”Yes. It does”_ she assured him   
_”Like a fire?”_ he continued asking   
_”I guess. It feels sorta... tingly”_ she informed, still struggling to explain the feeling, while hoping inside that Mike felt the same way.   
_”Like, you know, when you sleep on your arm and you feel tingles when you wake up?”_ she guessed. Mike giggled slightly at her choice of analogy, but eventually agreed   
_”Yes, I suppose it does. I feel the same”_ he assured her.

For a while, they sat in silence watching the television, Mike glad that all the intense scenes had finished.   
_”El?”_ Mike asked. Her eyes immediately pulled away from the television and onto his face, after which he continued with a warning _”Don’t mention what we’ve done to anyone, okay?”_   
_”Why?”_ she queried before quickly finding the answer on her own _”Oh, we’re not supposed to do it”_   
_”Don’t worry, I won’t”_ she assured him before looking back at the television.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter made me want to go and watch neighbours, just because it’s a soap I can tolerate.


	7. Caught Red Lipped

**Thursday, 1985-05-16**

It started as a fairly normal afternoon: As usual, Mike rose his bike to the cabin after school to visit El. They sat and chatted like they did most days.

Being unable to resist it, El eventually ended up on Mike’s lap, deep in a kiss. Mike, however, noticed that something was different... Was El wearing some form of lipstick?

When they eventually pulled away, Mike turned to look in El’s mirror and confirmed that yes, his face was now covered in El’s lipstick.

 _”I thought you’d notice eventually”_ she laughed _”Do you like it?”_   
_”You don’t need it to look pretty, but I do like it”_ he assured his girlfriend.   
_”Good”_ she giggled before grabbing the small container and applying more before going back to kissing Mike.

Then they heard Hop’s knock. _Shit_ , Mike thought - they were about to get caught being together without Hop’s permission. Quickly, they realised there was nothing they could do: they just had to let it happen and accept the consequences.   
Therefore, El walked out of her bedroom and unlocked the door. Hop did not look impressed for he had seen Mike’s bike not far from the cabin. He knew what was up.

 _”Where is he?”_ Hop demanded, before even saying ‘hello’. El went to open her mouth, but was stopped by Mike, who had now entered the room.   
_”I’m here chief”_

 _”And why are you here?”_ Hop interrogated, scaring the couple slightly.   
_”We just wanted to hang out, you know”_ Mike lied.   
_”Mmh, just hang out; It definitely looks like that”_ Hop repeated, doubting Mike’s statement. While taking note of the unusual lipstick-coloured marks around Mike’s face.   
_”I suppose I should let you stay, since you’re already here”_ he concluded reluctantly.

 _”Thank you”_ Mike replied politely; with that, Mike and El moved themselves back onto her bed, shutting the door behind them.

 _”Keep the door open three inches. You know the rules!”_ Hop shouted. Reluctantly, they obliged, not wanting to annoy Hop any more than he currently was.

 _”Well, what now?”_ El asked   
_”I don’t know”_ Mike replied   
_”It’s not like we can kiss or anything, we can hardly hug when he’s here”_ she whispered, not wanting Hop to find out their shenanigans when he wasn’t home.

 _”Who says we can’t, we just have to be stealthy”_ Mike suggested   
_”I’m not sure”_ A concerned El replied. She didn’t want to lose the ability to see Mike, but she really enjoyed kissing him.   
_”It’ll be fine, don’t stress about it”_ Mike insisted, knowing how much she loved it - there was no way she’d say no.

 _”Sure. We are stealth”_ She whisper shouted to Mike, who waved his hand as if to tell her to be quiet.

As usual, they both leaned into the kiss - this time, just slightly slower and more gently. In due course they pulled away - luckily not long before Hop walked past the door, heading to sit down.

He shifted his chair around so that he could see in if he needed without much difficulty, but couldn’t see anything unnecessarily.

The couple then decided to attempt another kiss, keeping with the stealthy slow and gentle idea they came up with not too long before.

But then, Hop decided to turn his head and glance through the door to check on Mike and El.   
_”Nonono. Stop what you’re doing”_ Hop shouted, causing the teens to quickly pull away from each other.

 _”We’re not doing anything!”_ Mike lied in defence   
_”I can see her lipstick on your face”_ Hop informed Mike. Despite the situation, El couldn’t help but laugh. To some extent, however, she was upset - trying to please Mike had led to them getting caught.

Hop then made his way further into El’s bedroom, ready for continued confrontation   
_”Right, let’s discuss a few things”_ he started, trying his hardest not to yell   
_”Firstly, at least make some attempt to hide what you’re doing. Maybe then you could’ve gone unnoticed”_

 _”Secondly, where did you learn that?”_ Hop asked angrily, before turning and pointing at Mike _”Was it him? Did you teach her? Have you been ruining my daughter!?”_

 _”N..No I di-“_ Mike attempted to say, before being interrupted... by El?   
_”I saw it on the TV!”_ El assured   
_”Was he here?”_ Hop interrogated _”What’ve you been showing her?”_

 _”No Chief. It’s not like that, I wouldn’t do that. She saw it on one of her soaps”_ Mike informed.   
To some extent, Hop was unsurprised - there had been a couple of instances where he tried to distract her or change the channel when it got intense. This didn’t make him any less angry, however.

 _”I don’t want you to come here without telling me beforehand from now on. Do I make myself clear?”_ An absolutely fuming Hop decreed.   
_”Yes Chief”_ Mike replied worriedly.   
_”Right then. Say bye to each other and then get out of here”_ Hop demanded.   
Mike and El did as he had told before Mike darted out of the door and onto his bike.

 _”And for you, kid: don’t watch those soaps anymore without me here”_ Hop told El after she had closed the door   
_”Okay”_ she replied, wanting to stay on his good side for now _”But we can still watch Miami Vice, right?”_   
_”Yes, we can. That’s your favourite one, is it not?”_ Hop agreed. El nodded in response; Even if she wasn’t allowed to watch some of them any longer she could still watch her favourite.   
Inside, Hop was confused as to why El would want watch them, maybe she just watched it for the story, but he just put it down to weird teenager stuff he didn’t understand.

* * *

 _”I can’t believe he caught us!”_ El exclaimed down her SuperCom, quickly getting Mike’s attention.   
_”I know, we tried to be stealthy and everything”_ Mike sighed _”How is he now?”_

 _”He calmed down, but he told me not to watch the soaps without him around now”_ she told him, mildly upset about the outcome.   
_”Oh dear, even ... umm... whatsit?”_ Mike stopped to think, but El finished his question _”Miami Vice? I can only watch it when he’s here”_

 _”We can still see each other, so I suppose we got off lightly”_ Mike said, trying to make something good of a mildly bad situation.   
_”Yeah, but maybe wait before asking when you can come round next”_ she hinted.   
_”Obviously”_ he responded with only a small about of snark.   
_”Oh! I have to go - Hop’s looking at me funny”_ she panicked, before throwing down the device.

 _”Really? He only left but 10 minutes ago, now come eat dinner”_ Hop told El, so she quickly moved, eager for her desert eggos.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let’s face it, the title could pass as a lyric from a reputation or maybe 1989 era Taylor Swift song


	8. Don’t Miss Me?

**Monday 1985-07-01**

After El dumped Mike’s ass, the girls went back to Hop’s cabin for some boyfriend-free relaxation and, unbeknownst to El, a pep talk.

Max started immediately when they got into El’s house. _”El, tell me you feel better without him.”_ she looked confused, as if she didn’t know how to feel.   
_”You don’t miss him, do you?”_ Max asked, with a slightly aggressive tone. Quickly, El tried to correct her _”No, I-“_   
_”Well tell me you don’t miss him then”_ Max instructed her. _”What don’t you miss about him?”_

 _”It’s not like I miss his laughter”_ El said, her voice quiet with concern.   
_”Good start”_ The redhead nodded.   
_”It’s not like I miss his face”_ El added.   
_”Great, keep going”_ Max encouraged, impressed at the sight before her - El actually seeming as if she didn’t care for Mike?   
Max did, however, feel as if it was too good to be true - they’d been apart less than an hour - had it even sunk in yet?

 _”It’s not like I miss his taste...”_ El continued, shrugging her shoulders as she finished.   
_”Yea- Woah, hold up. What?”_ Max asked in reply, this was the first she’d heard about their antics while alone first-hand, and she wanted to know everything _”Have you been making out or something when you’ve been telling us you have to go because of your ‘curfew’ ?”_

El sighed - she knew she wasn’t escaping Max’s interrogation.   
_”Maybe? What is ‘Making out’ ?”_ El asked, trying not to give away that she knew, while succeeding in doing her best impression of a tomato.   
_”You said it, you know exactly what I’m talking about. I can tell. So just trust me and tell me everything”_ Max replied with the most devious smile on her face. El looked over at the door, locking it, before turning back to Max.

 _”Fine.”_ El replied _”We’ve been doing it since March. We were watching the TV, one of the romantic shows, and I asked him why we hadn’t kiss like the people in the show.”_ Max was nodding and pushing El further on, she didn’t want any details spared - she wanted to know all the juicy details of what they did alone.

 _”He told me that we didn’t yet because something about not being allowed or not being mature enough. I told him right there that I would - and asked if we could try it. I didn’t think he would, but he said yes, so we got closer... And you know, it just happened - the next thing I knew, it was over and we were moving apart.”_ El told her redhead friend, who by this point was sniggering like a small child.

 _”And then what, did you do it again? How did it feel?”_ Max poked and prodded, trying to get answers.   
_”Yes, of course we did it again. We do it all the time - yes that’s what we do when we say I have a curfew. We try to do it when hopper isn’t around though, he makes us keep the door open so he can watch over us“_ El told her

 _”Wow... That’s not a surprise.”_ Max replied, shaking her head. It was exactly what she suspected to have been happening. She decided to dig some more, as El hadn’t fully answered the question _”So, how does it feel? Tell me more about how your first time felt?”_

 _”First time was strange, we were only used to having quick kisses, so it was strange doing it for so long.”_ Max nodded along with El’s recounting of the event _”When we stopped, we had to take a moment to catch our breath. We did it another time later that day and it felt excellent. Mike said we just had to get used to it. Now he really enjoys doing it.”_

 _”If you don’t mind me asking, have you done anything more than making out?”_ Max knew it was worth the question, even if they hadn’t - she knew El’s reaction would be funny.

She was correct about El’s reaction, for the most part. She lifted an eyebrow before responding to Max, making sure to try to emphasise that making out was the furthest they’d gone.   
_”Well, we haven’t done anything like _that_, but on least once occasion not too long ago Mike has had his hands all over me...”_ She then thought for a second after hearing Max’s sniggering before continuing.   
_”Not like that; I’m sure it’s on his mind, but he’s only has his hands on my back and sides and face”_

 _”And? What’s that like?”_ Max asked.   
_”It’s weird at first, but we’ve only starte-“_ El started to explain before being interrupted again with more questions _”Wait, hands on your back and sides... Are his hands under your shirt or not?”_.   
_”Over my shirt, we’re not there quite yet. I’m sure he wants to though. But like I was saying, we only started touching like that recently”_ El insisted

 _”You’re not convincing me. Are you sure you haven’t... even giv-”_ Max tried to say, but was hampered by laughter   
_”No, really, the most we’ve done is making out”_ El insisted, starting to get concerned that Max actually thought she was lying   
_”It was a joke! Come on, even Lucas and I haven’t gone near that yet”_ Max then explained.

 _”Well then, what should we do now?”_ Max asked, while trying to calm herself down. Now she had grown bored of her own questioning and wanted to do something fun.

Both girls decided that it would be a good idea to check in on the boys and see what they were up to.   
_”Let’s go. At the moment, I’m just wondering if you don’t miss me too?”_ El spoke powerfully as she put on her blindfold

 _”I bet they’ve moved on, they’re probably playing Atari or whatever”_ Max guessed, but El turned quickly and raised a finger to tell her to be quiet.   
_”Ah, sorry”_ Max then apologised.

As El watched the boys, Max attempted to understand what was going on just from El’s facial expression - despite her best efforts, she wasn’t getting far, so decided to sit quietly and wait it out.

So then, when El removed her blindfold in fits of laughter, Max was confused. El proceeded to explain was had happened, with Max’s expression changing from confusion to anger and shock, eventually settling somewhere in the middle.

 _”They aren’t worth our time”_ Max dismissed


	9. Never Say Die (Part 1)

**Thursday, 1985-07-04**

_”Joyce? What are you doing here?”_ Dr. Owens asked. He had told his men to let her and Murray free, but he wanted a word with her before she went to the surface.   
_”They had a gate open down here, the kids found it. We closed it though, destroyed the machine.”_ she responded.

Owens raised his finger, pointing down the hallway to where the machine was _”Let’s go and have a look at what they did. And I presume by ‘we’ you mean Jim and yourself?”_   
_”Yes, lets. By we I mean Jim, myself and Murray, he speaks Russian, so spoke with guards to sneak us in, and he translated the help we had”_ she told him in response, dreading the imminent moment when he asked where Jim was.

 _”Help? Who helped you?”_ Owens asked, soon realising they must’ve had inside help.   
_”When we were accidentally uncovering all of this, we found a small lab, where a scientist was working, Alexei. Jim took him hostage and Murray translated his knowledge, so we could shut the gate.”_ Joyce knew lying wasn’t going to get anyone anywhere, so told the truth.

 _”Talking of Jim, where is he?”_ he asked, thinking he was guarding the remains of the gate or something similar. He looked over to Joyce, who had stopped walking, and was looking down at the floor _”He didn’t make it, when he pushed that Russian guard or whatever into the machine he got trapped next to it. I had to destroy the machine with him next to it.”_

Owens took a deep breath, not knowing what to say. It took them both a moment just to think about what happened next...   
After a short time, Owens started talking again _”Would you like to continue with me to the gate, or would you like to go back to the surface”_ he asked _”I want to continue, I need to ask you something important anyway”_ she replied.

After a short amount of walking, they made it to the remains of the machine, and the quickly healing gate. Owens, accompanied by two soldiers ran down to the gate, Joyce following not far behind. He placed his hand on it, the ground was still warm, especially around the small area that was yet to close fully.

Hundreds of questions went flying through his head: How did the Russians know about the gate? How did they know to come to Hawkins? What did they want from the Upside-Down? None of them were going to be answered soon though.

His thoughts were soon interrupted by Joyce asking him a question _”Could we please speak in private for a moment?”_   
He immediately nodded his head and gave the order for the soldiers to move themselves out of earshot.

 _”What’s on your mind?“_ he asked _”Is it Will’s PTSD again?”_ Joyce shook her head _”With Jim being gone, where does his daughter go, she has no home, no parent?”_ Joyce asked, it was possible to feel the concern in her voice.

He thought for a moment, knowing that this point would be raised eventually, and then responded with his ideal situation   
_”Would you be comfortable with her staying with you? You know her story, Will shares some of her troubles - you could all help each other”_ Joyce took some time to think, before nodding her head and replying   
_”Well with Jonathan going to college soon it would be nice to have someone else around the house. And it would be nice for her and Will to be able to talk openly. I’m sure her boyfriend would be happy that Jim isn’t breathing down their necks constantly too”_ despite the dire situation, she laughed slightly while finishing her reply. 

Owens just raised an eyebrow and stuck his hand out. _”Deal, I’ll handle the paperwork, you just keep her safe”_ Joyce shook his hand before deciding to return to the surface...

When she arrived back at the surface, she got stopped by paramedics, who wanted to give her a quick checkup. She didn’t sustain any injuries, so was let go quickly, so she went to find El - who was sitting on the hood of Nancy’s car. Somehow, she explained, despite the previous state of her leg, it mysteriously healed after the gate closed - the paramedics didn’t want to see her past their initial checkups that they did on everyone.

Then, Joyce decided that she needed to tell El the plans, to some extent _”Hop is a bit busy handling this mess, so we’ve agreed that you’ll stay at my house with us tonight, you’ll be able to see him tomorrow.”_ she didn’t want to lie, but knew that it was for the best   
_”Can we stop at Mike’s house for clothes?”_ El asked. Joyce was just happy that was the only thing the girl was currently concerned about, so she nodded in reply, before asking El if she could ask Mike to grab some of her stuff, so they didn’t have to be out long.

After Jonathan and Will were deemed to be okay by the paramedics, Joyce, followed by her newly expanded family hopped into the car and set off to Mike’s house.

The visit to Mike’s house didn’t take long, as he had left before them and bagged some of El’s clothes that she kept hidden at his house. All she had to do was pop in and collect them.

On the way out, El waved goodbye to Mike as she got into the car; For the most part, everyone was fine, although that wouldn’t last long.

Jonathan sat in the front of the car, looking concerned and somewhat shocked, his mother had, once again, for better or for worse, pulled the trigger that saved the world. Although he too knew something was wrong by the way his mother was acting - but he didn’t want to ask with El and Will in the car.   
However it wasn’t long before she spoke up on her own _”There’s ... something I need to tell all of you”_ she stuttered.   
_”Mom, it’s fine”_ Will tried to assure her, it wasn’t working.   
_”Please, tell us, but only when you’re ready”_ El added.   
_”El, You’re right, maybe it would be better if we wait until we get back home”_ Joyce concluded. The kids agreed.

The time driving from Mike’s house to their house felt like forever for all of them. El was starting to get concerned about Hop, as he hadn’t shown up even after they waited around for Jonathan and Will to be cleared, despite Joyce assuring her that he was fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Despite what it may seem from this chapter, I do prescribe to the theory that Hop went through the gate and is in the USD. I also think that “the American” is Brenner, I don’t think they’d keep Hop alive long, and they’d have to find him first.


	10. Never Say Die (Part 2)

When they finally got back to Joyce’s house, she sat them down in the living room. There was, of course, also the matter of moving out, but she decided that it was wildly less important - and there was no way she could give them two pieces of bad news in just one night   
_”Are you sure you’re ready to tell us, Mom?”_ Will asked, always wanting to make sure everyone was fine.   
_”Yes, are you both ready?”_ she asked. They all nodded in response.   
_”It’s about Hop ... he’s ... not coming out of there”_ she told them, whilst trying to hold back the tears. It took a brief moment for her words to sink in, but soon enough, they were all crying.

When El recomposed herself, she started thinking about all her memories of him, before realising she now had nowhere to call home   
_”But what will happen to me?”_ El asked, quickly getting concerned about her future   
_”Dr. Owens is going to handle the paperwork to allow you to join our family”_ she told the group. El looked relieved, whilst Jonathan and Will both looked mildly confused.   
_”Where is she going to sleep?”_ Jonathan quizzed   
_”Don’t worry Jonathan, we’ll work something out”_ she told him sharply

 _”When are we telling everyone else?”_ Will asked, he knew that it was important for not only the rest of the party, but for everyone in the community, even if he wasn’t the most-liked community member.   
_”If you’d like, you can call all of your friends around tomorrow, and we’ll tell them then.”_ she told Will and El primarily, before looking over at Jonathan _”And get Nancy here too, please”_

Everyone agreed with the plans, before heading off to get themselves prepared for bed, and the day ahead tomorrow.

Joyce and Jonathan stayed in the living room, mainly as Jonathan wanted to console his mother and Joyce had given up her room for El until further notice

After some amount of crying, El finally managed to get herself to sleep on Joyce’s bed, but it still wasn’t the same. She secretly hoped that he was out there somewhere; Not dead, just injured.

**Friday, 1985-07-05**

After breakfast, El jumped up and ran into her room to get her SuperCom and prepared herself for what she needed to say. Eventually, she pushed the button in and began, with her fingers crossed _”Mike? Are you awake?”_ she summoned.   
_”Yes, is everyth-“_ Mike yawned.   
_”Good, you need to come round”_ El cut him off with immediacy before stopping to catch her breath and then continuing _”Bring Dustin, Lucas, Max and remind Nancy too”_   
_”Okay? Can I know why?”_ Mike asked inquisitively   
_”No. Not until everyone is here”_ she informed him, causing him to worry.

Around 15 minutes later, Mike, Dustin, Lucas and Max arrived - closely followed by Nancy who had driven them all   
_”Is everything okay?”_ Nancy asked. In response, Joyce led them to sit down in her living room.

 _”Right, are we all ready”_ Joyce asked, still unsure if she was ready herself. The whole group warily nodded in approval   
_”There is good news and bad news”_ Joyce started _”I’ll start with the good news: Last night, as you all very well know, that portal got closed. I know for sure because I closed it”_   
The group agreed and started cheering her on. Will, Jonathan and El knew that the applause would be needed to help Joyce get through the next quarter of an hour.

 _”Can we hear the bad news”_ Mike asked   
_”Just wait”_ Will snapped at him, giving everyone a small shock - the news must be bad if Will was snapping at people to wait.

Jonathan turned to his mother, ensuring she was okay. They both nodded at each other, designating that they were ready to begin with the bad news.

 _”Well, lets get this done with”_ Joyce carefully began _”The bad news... You might have noticed I said that I closed the gate, not Jim and I closed the gate”_   
_”Oh no”_ Mike exclaimed, starting to realise what she was getting at   
_”Jim was trapped, next to the gate, so when I closed the gate... it killed Jim”_ she cried. It again took a moment for the effects of the news to sink in, but it was devastating when it did.

Most of the party were not massively familiar with Hop, but were crying for El more than anything - the only proper father figure she had was now dead.

 _”But, El?”_ Mike asked, even though they weren’t technically together currently, he was very concerned about her, as she was now homeless.   
_”I’m moving in here, don’t worry about me”_ El responded, putting Mike’s mind to rest.   
_”You can still see her, don’t worry Mike”_ Joyce assured him.

Max looked at Mike and then El, remembering what Mike had accidentally said the night before, he loved her. Despite Max not wanting them to get back together without an apology, she now understood why he was so concerned and was willing to forgive him slightly.

 _”Have you told anyone else yet?”_ Dustin asked   
_”Well, no, apart from Murray of course. I need to notify Flo at the station today, I’m sure she’ll help me sort everything out”_ Joyce

The group stayed at Joyce’s house for another few hours, then when she and Jonathan went down to the station to talk to Flo, the group hopped into Nancy’s car and went to help El move some of her important stuff to her new home.

_14:30_

_”Hey El, could I talk to you for a moment?”_ Joyce shouted from the kitchen to the girl who was currently trying to sort some of her boxes out   
_”Yes?”_ El asked, walking into the kitchen   
_”Do you mind if I ask you a personal question?”_ Joyce queried   
_”No?”_ El responded, an element of confusion in her voice

 _”Are you and Mike currently in a relationship?”_ Joyce quizzed carefully   
_”Well, no, not at the moment, he’s been lying. I want to talk with him about it though - I don’t like being away from him”_ the girl sheepishly admitted

 _”Oh no, come here”_ Joyce expressed concern, holding her arms out for El _”Just, if you wouldn’t mind, tell me when you get back together”_   
El nodded in agreement - she though it was fair: Joyce was sleeping on the couch for her, the least she could do is tell her when she was back together with Mike. Inside, she hoped it would be soon.


	11. By Now

**Sunday, 1985-07-07**

Mike knew he had to fully apologise to El for how he’d acted. He knew that she knew he was lying. He knew she deserved to know the truth. That apology on the floor of the shop when he was tending to her leg wasn’t good enough, she deserved a proper one.

He’d decided to hold it in a few days, as he didn’t want to upset her by talking about Hop so soon. So today, he jumped out of bed, got himself ready at a particularly high speed, and sped off on his bike to El’s house.

It didn’t take too long to get there, but before he came close, he took a moment to stop and think about what he was going to say. As a start, for better or for worse, Max had given him some pointers as to what to say: it was filled with things she thought were important that wouldn’t have been mentioned otherwise, she didn’t want him getting back with El before she was okay with it.

He knocked the door, he knew that Joyce wouldn’t be in, but was El or Will?   
Soon enough, Will opened the door, not quite sure why Mike would be showing his face. _”Is El in?”_ Mike asked. Will looked quite upset, but reluctantly called her to the door.

When she arrived, she was quite shocked to see Mike in front of her.   
_”How’ve you been?”_ She asked him with an element of confusion in her voice.   
_”Halfway happy. Can I come in?”_ he knew there was no getting out of it, he couldn’t go without her any longer - he needed her back in his life. Little did he know that she needed him as much as he needed her.

El moved from in the way of the door to let Mike in, and they went to sit down in the Byers’ living room. Luckily for Mike, Will had gone back into his room to continue whatever he was doing previously.   
_”El, I know you’re not stupid, I think it’s time I come clean and explain why I lied to you.”_ Mike told her, hoping that she’d listen and understand.   
_”That’s fine, just be quiet - don’t let Will hear. Plus, I need to say something too”_ she told him in response. Will overhearing would cause a world of questions that neither of them wanted to answer. He’d find out eventually, anyway.

Mike took a deep breath, then leaned forward slightly so he wouldn’t have to talk as loudly _“When Hop told us that my Mom called and that my Nana was ill, he did it so I’d leave the cabin so he could take me home and warn me about being near you”_ Mike blurted, trying not to miss out on any fine details; El looked mortified, Hop really forced Mike to lie?

 _”He told me he was fed up of us being together all the time, and that he didn’t want us to being together constantly.”_ The more Mike continued, the more shocked El looked; It did sound feasible that Hop would do such a thing, he did lie to El for nearly a year about going to see Mike.

 _”Then he told me to lie to you about having to go to see Nana, but instead me, Lucas and Will went to the Mall. I really was trying to buy something for you, that wasn’t a lie”_ he took another deep breath before continuing _”That’s why my Mom asked what was going on when you called, it was all lies and nobody had told her.”_ Mike was stressing at this point, he really wanted her back _”If I could’ve said what you’d have liked to have heard, when I was talking to you on the phone, I would’ve said it’s only temporary“_

 _”Mike, just calm down. I believe you”_ She told him. Now it was Mike’s turn to look shocked. _”He’s lied to me before; he lied to me about when I could see you”_ She rose from the place she was sat to sit next to Mike and placed a hand on his shoulder.

 _”I think I need to come clean too”_ El began, Mike looked confused _”After I dumped you and Max and I went back to the cabin, I came and watched you”_

 _”Oh. Max mentioned that. I can hardly blame you though”_ He informed her, she didn’t know that he already knew!

 _”But?”_ El began...   
_”No El, I’ve done worse than you have. I lied to you. I’m sorry”_ Mike cut her off   
_”I’m sorry too... Friends?”_ El politely asked   
_”Friends”_ he assured her

 _”Can we go back to how we used to be? Like before any of this even happened?”_ she asked. She wanted him back almost as bad as he did. _”That sounds like a plan”_ he smiled and placed a hand around her, pulling her closer. Neither of them wanted to let go.

 _”Ahem? Are you both alright in here”_ Will stood in the entrance of the room with a look of confusion, not knowing what moment he’d just interrupted. Mike and El jumped away from each other, just like they used to do with Hop.   
_”Yep!”_ they yelped in unison. _”Nothing to see here!”_ Mike added. Will turned around and went back into his room, to be honest, he didn’t want to know what he’d walked in on.

 _”Room?”_ El asked. She didn’t want to be interrupted by Will again. Mike nodded and they got up off their seats and sat on El’s bed.   
_”I think I should say sorry again: I haven’t been treating you right, and I think... No, I’ve definitely been taking you for granted. Not being with you this week has made me realise that. I’m sorry for what I said, all the stuff I made up about girls being a different species and that... crap”_ Mike gasped, he was finally ready to admit that maybe he hadn’t been treating her right.

This, however, was the top of Mike’s limit. He placed his head in his hands and started crying. He knew he was in the wrong, Max went out of her way to make him well aware of it; Hell, even Dustin pointed it out. They couldn’t stay young forever, and to some extent, he knew that firsthand now.

El placed her hand on his shoulder and shifted closer to him _”Tell me what’s wrong, please”_ He removed his head from his hands _”I guess... I - I just feel guilty for acting like I was entitled to you”_ he told her.   
_”Mike, please, I forgive you. Can we just go back to the way we were, just improved, not en-title-d?”_ she asked, getting stuck on a new word.   
_”Yes, the new and improved us”_ he told her, whilst wrapping his arm around her   
_”Mike? Promise?”_   
_”Promise.”_


	12. Still Angry

**Monday, 1985-07-22**   
_14:00_

Mike had only popped round to El’s house for a quick visit, but they ended up losing track of time as they did so frequently in the cabin ending them in hot water.

The quick visit soon turned into deep conversation which somehow became a slippery slope to making out. However, as they were beginning, El had a realisation: she needed to let Joyce know they were back together.

 _”Mike”_ El giggled, trying to be serious and failing horribly   
_”What’s wrong, do you need me to move?”_ Her boyfriend responded worriedly   
_”Nothing that important, it can wait”_ El lied _”Can we continue?”_   
_”Oh? Anyway then, we shall!”_ He replied whilst trying to figure out what was going on

 _”Okay, maybe not, it is quite important actually”_ She admitted   
_”I’m all ears, go ahead”_ A very confused Mike told his girlfriend.   
_”Joyce asked me if we could tell her if we got back together - here we are, so...”_ She told him, taking a moment to look at the position they had gotten themselves into.   
_”Mmh”_ Mike thought out loud _”We should tell her. It is her house and you are her daughter now”_

 _”How do we tell her?”_ El asked   
_”I don’t know, but I’m sure we can figure it out. If we can’t then I’m sure she’ll understand”_ Mike wondered; Surely Joyce would know how to handle two confused teens who were trying to figure out love? She sure did with Jonathan.   
_”Maybe it would be best if I tell her on my own?”_ The girl proceeded to conclude with Mike reluctantly nodded in agreement.

With the matter settled, the couple went back to their previous activity, picking up right where they left off.

_17:00_

Eventually, Joyce arrived home from work; Mike had been gone a while and El had been thinking about how she could tell Joyce. She eventually decided that the best approach

 _”Joyce, can we talk?”_ the girl asked quietly, Joyce immediately knowing that something was up. _”Of course”_   
_”You asked me to tell you when Mike and I got together again, and we are now - so...”_ El explained, her voice trailing off at the end in confusion.

 _”That’s fine, we’ll discuss more at the weekend, yes? We can invite Mike round and discuss like adults”_ Joyce told her now-daughter, who agreed.

**Saturday, 1985-07-27**

Mike and El were talking on the SuperCom when Joyce arrived home; when she realised they were talking, she remembered El had told her that they were back together and therefore decided to lay down some boundaries.   
She called El in, explaining briefly what she was going to do before sending El back to speak to Mike

 _”Can you come round, Joyce wants to talk to us. She says it’s important”_ El invited Mike after they’d concluded their previous discussion. Mike immediately rushed round; He had a feeling it was about them being back in a relationship again, but made no assumptions.

_Not much time later_

_”Before I say anything, do you mind me asking why you took a break?”_ Joyce carefully asked, wondering if it was related to Hop’s threats against Mike

 _”Hop... He made Mike lie”_ El began explaining, a hint of anger still evident in her voice   
_”And then El and Max just thought I was lying off my own accord, so El called it off - and rightfully so”_ Mike added   
_”He can’t do that!”_ Joyce shouted angrily   
_”He did, but we’ve put it behind us though”_ He proceeded to tell her   
_”That’s very grown up off you, well done”_ Joyce commended before clearing her throat.

 _”Look, I don’t know what boundaries you had with Hop - by the sounds of it you didn’t have many, so I’m going to go from the start”_ Joyce informed the couple, who nodded in agreement. Neither had the heart to tell her that they had no boundaries and that her plan for his speech had caused all the problems in the first place.

 _”I’m not going to make you lie to each other, I can’t and anyway, that’s not fair; Nor will I try to force you apart”_ She told them truthfully   
_”I don’t mind if you meet frequently, that’s hardly an issue. I would, however, sometimes like you to go out to other places. I don’t mind you being round here, but I think that would be good for you El”_ Joyce then explained, hoping that they would understand.

 _”That’d be great, I’m sure we could do that, couldn’t we Mike?”_ El agreed, looking over at Mike who nodded happily. They had both been waiting for the day that El could actually go out to places more frequently and without having to ask permission constantly.

 _”Great, I don’t mind if you want to go over to Mike’s house or wherever. I am going to ask you try to avoid very busy places for safety. We can change that in a few months though“_ Joyce elaborated. She made sure to add in the potential for change, even though she had very strong feelings about moving away.   
For a moment, she considered telling them, but decided to defer until she had a more concrete plan.

 _”What about sleepovers? Can we have sleepovers?”_ El asked excitedly, wanting to use some of her newly granted freedom.   
_”Between the two of you or with the group?”_ Joyce asked, preparing to tailor her answer accordingly.   
_”Both?”_ El responded hopefully.   
_”Easier answer first: You can with the group, as long as it’s just the group and nobody else; Again, that is liable to change”_ Joyce told them

 _”What about just us?”_ Mike proceeded to enquire, hoping she would allow it, unlike Hop.   
_”That’s a bit more difficult”_ She responded honestly, thinking before trying to reach a conclusion _”I don’t mind them happening; I appreciate that they are going to happen. I’m slightly wary about you sharing a bed, so I’m going to ask that you don’t - again, that changes when you’re older.”_ Both Mike and El agreed with what Joyce asked of them, they weren’t ready to share a bed yet anyway.

 _”Apart from that, as long as it’s okay with your parents, go ahead. Just, you know, don’t do anything too stupid - that’s all I can ask.“_ She then told them

 _”On a related note: I’ve been notified by someone else in this house that noises resembling making-out can be heard sometimes”_ Joyce notified, trying her best not to sound like she was telling them off.   
_”Oh my! We’re so sorry, aren’t we Mike”_ El apologised   
_”Definitely, we shouldn’t be disturbing anyone”_ Mike thoroughly agreed, which made Joyce very impressed at their level of maturity, so she decided to put it behind them and move on   
_”Well that was easy, just try not to be too obvious when others are in the house please.”_ Joyce concluded.

 _”I also want to politely ask that if you find yourselves in a very intimate situation that you consider speaking to an adult. You don’t have to, but consider it.”_ Joyce asked, making both teens turn an incredibly bright shade of red; they hadn’t even spoken about it together yet!

 _”I won’t argue, but I don’t think we need to worry about that yet. We haven’t even spoken about that stuff yet”_ Mike informed her

 _”I know, I appreciate that, but I thought it was important to say”_ Joyce explained

 _”I don’t want to know the details, I just want to know you’re safe”_ She assured the couple _”If you ever need protection or anything then I’m all ears, we can just have a quiet word. I promise I won’t judge”_

 _”So then, quickly”_ Joyce began before listing off a summary of the points they’d discussed. Each point was met with nodding and agreement for the most part.

 _”I do appreciate you might break these, hey ho, what can I do - just try to stick to them. Also if you want to sit back down and reconsider some stuff, then just ask”_ Joyce concluded, before letting the couple go.


	13. Right Direction

**Wednesday, 1985-08-21**

_”El, Will, can you come here please”_ Joyce called from her seat in the lounge. El said goodbye to Mike, put down her SuperCom and walked in while Will placed down his art supplies and paused his music.

When they sat down, they both noticed Joyce looked slightly distressed and figured something was wrong.

 _”Mom, are you okay?”_ Will asked worriedly   
_”I have some news. I figured I should tell you now before you find out a different way”_ she alerted them

El and Will looked at each other, before turning back to Joyce. More bad news?   
_”You might’ve noticed I’ve been getting some jobs done around the house recently. “_ she took a deep breath and all three of them prepared themselves _”I’ve been doing it because we’re moving out”_

 _”Where are we moving? Are we staying in Hawkins?”_ Will asked.   
Joyce shook her head _”No, we’re going to Monterey, in California”_   
El looked shocked, what would she and Mike do? They struggled with being apart for under a year, how would they handle it indefinitely? At least they would still be able to talk, she hoped.

 _”Does Jonathan know?”_ Will questioned   
_”Yes, I told him yesterday”_ she assured

 _”Can we tell everyone?”_ El asked   
_”Yes, just do it in your own time, please. Don’t rush it”_ Joyce told them, knowing Mike would be told immediately and the rest of the party might have to wait a day or two.

 _”So when are we going?”_ El asked   
_”Early October, hopefully”_ Joyce informed them both

To some extent, El was excited: it would be nice to visit a new place; But at the same time, she was frightened. What if there was someone from the lab there? How often would she be able to see Mike? Would she have to go to school?   
She decided all of those questions could wait until she’d got the initial load off her chest.

 _”Well, unless you want to ask anything, I guess you can go and tell your friends, if you’re ready”_ Joyce dismissed

When they got up, Will followed El to her room. _”Are you going to tell Mike?”_ He gently asked. El nodded in response, fiddling around with her SuperCom.   
_”Should we talk to Mike before telling anyone else?”_ once again, she nodded, so Will went back to his room to continue his art.

 _”Who can say how you’ll react when I tell you I’m leaving”_ she talked to the picture of her and Mike that was placed on her dresser before sitting down on her bed to try and prepare herself for having to break the news to Mike. There was no easy way to do it. She would have to tell it as it is.

 _”Mike, I’m back”_ El asked down the SuperCom, hoping that her boyfriend was still there.   
_”Hey”_ He cooed in response   
_”Would you like to come over for a bit”_ she invited _”I have some news for you”_

After hearing that, Mike immediately grabbed his SuperCom and bike and left for her house. On the journey, Mike started to get slightly worried about today’s news after last time’s news. Maybe it was about Hop: maybe they’d found something, but he couldn’t be sure until he arrived.

When he arrived at the house, El let him in and they sat talking for a bit, both wanting to avoid El’s important news.   
Eventually, she realised that she needed to tell him and wouldn’t be able to put it off for much longer   
_”Here comes the hardest part”_ she whispered, still managing to get Mike’s attention _”I should tell you why I asked you to come over.”_ Mike’s expression changed quickly, he was worried about what she was going to tell him. “The hardest part” concerned him the most, it was obviously very big news

 _”I don’t know how to tell you this”_ she warned, holding back tears and taking a deep breath _”We’re moving away...”_ her emotions were beginning to be difficult to control, but she wanted to keep herself together for Mike’s sake.

 _”Shit! Are you serious?”_ he asked, wanting to believe it was some bad dream or cruel joke; Inside, he knew there was no way she’d lie about something this big. _”I’m serious, I’m sorry Mike”_ she whimpered

 _”So where are you going to?”_ Mike asked inquisitively, not really expecting her to remember.   
_”I think Joyce said we’re going to California”_ she attempted to recall.   
_”That’s like, 2500 miles away. Do you know when you’re moving?”_ he asked, struggling with holding back tears himself.   
_”October 5, I know...”_ she stated, getting closer to tears by the second.   
_”Wow. That’s really close”_ he panicked

They could both see each other struggling with the news, so decided to try and settle down for a moment. As usual for them in difficult situations, they ended up hugging. This, however, made their efforts to calm futile and El started sobbing loudly.   
At first, Mike tried to calm her, but even he was eventually overwhelmed by tears.

El had never seen Mike in such a bad way before, even when she was missing.   
_”Are you coming back, El?”_ Mike asked from behind a wall of tears _”Are you coming back to me?”_   
_”I’m not sure when I’m going to be back home, but I will”_ she assured him. However this hardly stopped him from continuing to cry - nothing was going to stop him crying now.

 _”We said we’d never leave each other again El!“_ Mike cried.   
_”I know, so don’t make it easy for me to forget you Mike”_ she requested   
_”I won’t... I promise”_ he assured his worried girlfriend _”We’ll figure something out, like when we can visit each other”_

 _”Thanks-giving?”_ she asked. She had heard of the event, but much like Christmas up until 1984, hadn’t experienced it properly. She did, however, know that Hop didn’t go into work that day, as it was a “holi-day” - she has been told that meant people had the day off their jobs or school   
_”Yeah, yeah. I’ll ask my mom - I can’t guarantee anything though”_ he told her hoping that his mother would allow him to travel to California alone to visit his girlfriend.

 _”Will knows?”_ he presumed, El nodded her head, so Mike called him in to discuss telling the rest of the party.

Eventually, they decided that they would call everyone around at the weekend so the matter could be discussed in person.


	14. And Straight On Till Morning

**Tuesday, 1985-09-03**

For a couple of weeks now, especially during the end of the summer break, the party had been planning a moderately large Dungeons and Dragons campaign. All of the party were going to be there, and it was going to take a few weeks.

All of their parents had agreed to it, mainly as they’d pitched it as a set of sleepovers at Mike’s. El, however, didn’t know much about the nights, but Mike thought it would be good for her to attend - even if she had no clue about the game.

Just then, Mike heard his radio making noise, it was El - his chance was there to introduce the idea to her.

 _”Do you want to join me and the rest of the party on Saturday?”_ He asked, after exchanging pleasantries.   
_”Always, what are we doing?”_   
_”We’re playing D &D”_ Mike told her, but she was confused: why would he invite her to join in with something she didn’t understand? _”But I-“_.   
_”I know, but I want you to join in, we can help you; if you’d like?”_ Mike interrupted to offer

 _”Okay then, I’ll join. How long is it for?”_ El asked   
_”Well, we’ll start at, I don’t know, about 15:00 and play into the evening and maybe straight on till the morning - it depends...”_   
_”So what can I do?”_ She then asked, not wanting to be left out.   
_”I don’t know, we can always find something though.”_ Mike knew he needed to think of something, she didn’t know much about D&D, but he couldn’t refuse his own girlfriend a place at the table.   
_”Yes please. I want to join in somehow”_ She pleaded.

He eventually concluded that he would speak with the rest of the party at school tomorrow to work something out.

**The next day**

As Mike parked his bike and made his way over to the party, he thought about how he could introduce the idea of El coming along to the campaign.

Will being Will, had already heard about Mike’s plans from El, but knew he should stay quiet until Mike showed up.

 _”Are you prepared for Saturday yet?”_ Dustin asked excitedly, before Mike had even made his way to the group properly   
_”I am, but about that...”_ Mike began   
Lucas and Max both audibly sighed - was he about to ditch them for El?

 _”Could El join in somehow? I’d really like her to be there, but I don’t want her to feel left out”_   
Lucas and Max both relaxed at the thought of not being ditched by Mike. Max and Mike might’ve clashed sometimes, but Max knew inside that he was a good DM and boyfriend to El.

 _”I don’t know, you’re the DM!”_ Dustin reminded him   
_”Yeah, take her under your arm as an assistant or something”_ Max recommended.   
_”Smart idea”_ Dustin commented   
_”But how, she has no idea what to do”_ Mike reminded the group

 _”Exactly, take some time before to train her up - then during the campaign, explain what’s going on to her.”_ Max elaborated _”Will, could you help her too?”_   
_”Of course I can - she is my sister now after all”_ He agreed - there was no way he could deny helping anyone, let alone family.

 _”Well then - in that case, can she join in?”_ Dustin asked, looking around at the party. All of the group nodded, agreeing that she would benefit from it.

 _”That’s settled then”_ Max concluded   
_”Is everything else prepared for Saturday?”_ Dustin asked again, going back to his initial question.   
Mike then proceeded to run through everything that needed to be done that he could think of, before being stopped by the school bell.

**Thursday, 1985-09-05**

As Mike and El now met twice during the week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, because of school, Mike decided that he would heed Max’s advice and attempt to explain the basics of D&D to El.

Before going over to the Byers’ house, Mike stopped at his house to drop off his school gear and collect his D&D stuff. He decided against bringing loads of stuff, just the notes for the campaign and his rule books.

When he arrived, he explained to El what he was going to do beforehand. Luckily, Will had already begun explaining some basic rules, which left more time for Mike to cover basic DM concepts.

Over the course of the evening, they discussed what Mike did during an adventure and why it was important. At some point, however, El realised that she didn’t actually know what she would be doing yet.

 _”So what will I be doing in the adventure?”_ El asked him   
_”You can be my assistant, if you’d like”_ He proposed, already thinking he knew her answer.   
_”That sounds fun! What do I have to do”_ She confirmed his suspicion - there was no real doubt that she’d agree.   
_”Well if you’d like, you can help me tell the story?”_ Mike offered

 _”Happily, Mike, but I don’t know the story”_ El warned him   
_”No problem”_ he replied, turning to his bag and pulling out the notes _”I have it here, mostly”_

The couple then spent their time until dinner discussing the notes in great detail; with Mike getting out his rule book to explain something whenever necessary.

After a while of talking and explaining, El started to grasp the story. Mike decided that he would do some drawings of the map when he arrived home so that he could better explain the progression of the campaign to El.   
They could then look over it before the rest of the party arrived on Saturday

**Saturday, 1985-09-07**

As Joyce wasn’t working that day, she decided to give both El and Will a lift to Mike’s house. That wasn’t something they could really argue with since it meant being able to spend more time with the party without having to think about having to walk or cycle home

This did however, have the effect of them arriving nearly an hour before everyone else. Mike was glad of this, since it gave him time to run through some last things with El

 _”Maps?”_ El asked, pointing at Mike’s hand drawn aides as she entered the basement. Will had stayed upstairs because he didn’t want anything spoiled, and to look out for everyone else.   
_”I’ve been drawing a map out for us over the past few days”_ Mike told his inquisitive girlfriend   
_”Can I look?”_ She then asked excitedly. Mike nodded yes and walked over with her towards them.

 _”How about we go through them together?”_ He proposed, El agreed, knowing it would be useful.

After what felt like a few moments, the rest of the party arrived and they were ready to begin.   
Everybody took their seats, with El sitting next to Mike. Mike then started the game, going through all his procedures to ensure a fair adventure.

They played right up until being called for dinner. Mike could see that El was beginning to understand and embrace the game, so wanted to encourage her to join in more in the future.

After dinner, they continued playing and Mike started handing off more story elements to El. Everyone made sure to help her when she stumbled on her words as there were plenty she’d never encountered before.

It seemed like no time passed to El when Will eventually realised that it was getting late. The group decided to power on and try to do as much as possible, but knew going to sleep was important. So much for Mike’s “And straight on till morning” statement

**The next morning**

Because of Joyce’s deciding to drive El and Will home, they had to leave slightly earlier than everyone else. This left time for the party to talk about El without her hearing.

 _”You trained her well Mike”_ Dustin commended   
_”Yeah, she did good for someone new to the game”_ Lucas agreed   
_”What’s she doing next week?”_ Dustin then asked, intrigued as to if she’d be taking more responsibility on the next adventure.

 _”I might get her to start doing some math, who knows?”_ Mike told then, hoping she’d agree to doing more.

**A few weeks later**

Over the weeks that El had been joining along for the party’s D&D meet-ups her skill had increased immensely.   
As the weeks had progressed, Mike allowed her to do more things, progressing to the point where she was logging the party’s actions and calculating damage, experience and the like.

El was very impressed with herself because of picking a whole new set of concepts up so quickly, and she was even more happy about picking up new things while spending time with the party before she had to move away.

El was, however, really going to miss the meetings as she had began getting into D&D and was beginning to enjoy the game.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A person with no D&D experience attempts to write a chapter about D&D, what fun. (I did do research though)  
> El likely knows more about it than I do.  
> (Apparently my old history teacher plays it though. Imagine that... He’s 50)


	15. Dearly Departed

**Thursday, 1985-10-03  
** _07:30_

El had already been awake for a while; the thought of having to move away was causing her to lose sleep, and lots of it at that. Knowing that she had but two days before moving, she decided to see if Mike would be up for dropping by after school   
_”Mike? Are you there”_

 _”For you: always, what’s up?”_ Mike ran across his room towards his SuperCom, answering it quickly.   
_”It’s the 3rd of October, you should come over after school, so we can be together before I have to move”_ El said   
_”Of course I will. See you la-”_ he told her, getting ready to dash off to school, before being interrupted   
_”Before you go, Joyce wants to know if you’d like to stay for dinner tonight?”_ El asked   
_”Always... although seriously, I have to leave now - I’ll see you later”_ Mike agreed, despite having to rush to ensure that he got to school on time.

_15:45_

Mike managed to slip out of school fairly quickly from under the party’s noses, which meant he managed to get to The Byers’ house reasonably fast. It was their last few days together and he was wasting none of it.

 _”Wow, you got here quick didn’t you?”_ El asked, surprised, as she invited Mike in. He had gotten to their house so quickly that he’d beaten Will home.   
_”I don’t want to miss a moment with you”_ He reminded her

As there was nobody else home, they quickly found themselves making out. Today however, was different: it felt more as if they were doing it to show to the other just how much they loved each other - despite not having said it yet.   
Even though they hadn’t said it, it was still on their minds, they still both wanted to say it, but they both wanted to say it at the right time.

_18:45_

The evening went fairly quickly, through the constant talking, making out and then eventually dinner. After dinner, Mike had to leave for home, much to El’s disdain.

 _”Well then, I guess that’s my last ever evening in this house”_ Mike said sadly as he walked to the door.   
_”Mike... stop”_ El whined, trying not to get too upset   
_”Yeah, I’m sorry. It’s the truth though”_ He reminded her

 _”I’m really going to hate it without you around”_ Mike told his girlfriend, who was fighting tears.   
_”I know, I know. You could stay tonight though, then we’d have more time together?”_ El proposed, hoping that he’d accept, but knowing it was unlikely because of school.   
_”I’d love to, but I have school tomorrow. Maybe I could tomorrow night?”_ He asked, raising his voice enough so that Joyce would be able to hear   
_”Of course you could, you’re always welcome here”_ Joyce shouted, having overheard the couple.

 _”I suppose I have to get going, my parents will wonder where I am”_ Mike warned before giving El a kiss goodbye and cycling off into the night.

**Friday, 1985-10-04**

Mike tried to get away from school as quickly as he could, but it was Friday- so everyone else had the same idea.   
He eventually snuck his way through the crowds to his bike before speeding off home to collect some things before going to the Byers’ house.

_16:00_

When he arrived, he was greeted by Will, who had beaten him there. The pair stood having a conversation for a while about moving away and keeping in touch. As the range on the SuperComs was subpar, especially over that distance, they would have to use the telephone until they got more powerful radios like Dustin and Suzie.

 _”Oh, hey Mike”_ El cooed when she left her room to see who was at the door   
_”Hey El, I’ll be all yours in a moment, let me finish talking to Will”_ he informed her, before going back to talking

When that moment was up, Mike entered El’s room. She jumped up off her bed to greet him with a hug, almost as if to say “I don’t want to go”   
_”Let’s not even think about tomorrow, yeah? Let’s enjoy what we can”_ Mike told her, wanting to get the thought out of his head.

 _”Mike, just quickly, before she gets home: I know Joyce said we can’t share a bed, but please, can we just for tonight?”_ El quietly asked, hoping Mike felt the same way. She hoped it wouldn’t be a problem for him, after all, they weren’t going to see each other again for an undetermined amount of time.

 _”Why the hell not? We can hold each other close like it’s not the end”_ Mike whisper-shouted in some combination of excitement and dread.   
_”It isn’t the end Mike”_ She decreed   
_”I know, I know. We can still share the bed though”_ He assured her

For the most part, the night continued similarly to the previous night, they chatted, had some dinner, chatted more; But tonight, Mike stayed, the talking continued, as did the kissing.

_22:00_

_”I’m getting tired, are we ready for bed?”_ El yawned   
_”Just about”_ Mike nodded, glancing over at the door to check if El had locked it yet. They really didn’t want anyone to see them breaking the bed rule. As he looked back at El, he heard the lock click into place.

She quickly checked the door just to be safe and then pulled back the duvet so she could get in. Mike did the same, however on the complete other side of the bed.

 _”Come on, come closer”_ She whispered, pulling Mike’s arm trying to move him.   
_”Are you sure?”_ he asked, making sure she wasn’t getting herself into a position she didn’t want to be in.   
_”Mike, please, it’s just for tonight. But you don’t have to if you don’t want to”_   
_”Oh I want to”_ he told her, making her giggle quietly.

The couple made their way closer together, not too close to the point of being uncomfortable, but close enough to be happy; Close enough for Mike to get his arm around El.

 _”Don’t worry about the future, we’ll get through it”_ Mike attempted to assure his worried girlfriend   
_”Promise?”_   
_”I promise”_ He responded.

 _”For ever after you will be my home, Mike”_ She told him, shuffling slightly closer to him.   
_”And there’s no place like home”_ The couple said simultaneously, blowing each other away slightly.

El closed her eyes in a way that told him she was closing in on tears _”That’s it for the night. I won’t mention it again. I’m sorry for bringing it up”_ He then apologised. El said nothing in response - she didn’t want to think about it, but knowing she had Mike right next to her calmed her down immensely

 _”I’m really tired now Mike; Kiss me goodnight?”_ El whispered to her boyfriend, who was also looking weary.   
_”Goodnight El”_ he whispered softly before kissing her forehead.

Shortly after, when El was asleep, he began to notice his arm going slightly numb but decided that it was totally worth it. Plus, he didn’t want to wake El...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unlike the song this chapter is based on, this chapter was not written while on morphine (for better or for worse)


	16. Only the Lonely Survive

**Saturday, 1985-10-05**

_”Morning El”_ Mike cooed when he saw El shifting around before turning over to face him   
_”Morning Mike”_ she responded softly

 _”How did you sleep?”_ He asked   
_”Last night was the most sleep I’ve had in a whole week”_ She confessed _”Thank you for being here with me”_   
_”It’s no problem, really.”_ He told her honestly

 _”Stay here or get up?”_ El asked. Mike looked at his watch: 9am _”I think we need to get up. I’d love to stay though”_   
_”Five more minutes then?”_ El asked   
_”Why not?”_ he concluded. Truth be told, he never wanted to move. He was happy, she was happy - they were happy.

After those five more minutes, Mike and El got up from bed and attempted to get themselves ready for the day.

 _“I honestly can’t believe you’re leaving today. It feels— surreal”_ Mike whispered into his girlfriend’s ear. They both knew that El moving away would be difficult for them. They both knew their relationship would suffer, at least to some extent.   
But for now, eating breakfast whilst sat on what was left of the furniture of Joyce’s house, they were happy - they always were when they were together.

Mike looked at his watch again, 09:45. They’d told the party to arrive for 10am to help pack before saying goodbye. The day was going to be difficult, but there was no turning back now.

As he was washing his bowl before packing it away, he saw Nancy’s car pull up, complete with Dustin, Lucas and Max.   
_”They’re here”_ He shouted, causing El to get up and open the door for them.

 _”Well then, how can we help?”_ Dustin asked   
_”Well, get El, Mike and Will to help you sort everything into boxes for moving and also boxes for charity”_ Joyce explained

After El and Will has cleaned their bowls, the group began packing everything up.   
Mike helped El while Nancy helped Jonathan and the rest of the party pitched in where they could.   
Will being himself had already sorted lots of his belongings, so only needed help boxing them up and loading them into the van.

_A few hours later_

Mike entered what was once his girlfriend’s room just as she was attempting to move an old stuffed bear from the top shelf. He stood watching her as she tried and failed to use her powers before eventually going to help her.

 _”Thanks Mike”_ she said quietly   
_”Seriously, it’s no problem”_ He responded with a whisper, mimicking her quietness.

 _”To be really honest, Mike: I’d rather hurt here than be happy somewhere else”_ It was as clear as day that she was really struggling now, that she really didn’t want to go.

 _”Just, y’know, remember to keep in touch whenever possible, you remembered to pack your walkie, right?”_   
_”Yeah”_ she nodded in response   
_”Good, because I’m going to steal Cerebro from Dustin and call you so much you’ll have to turn it off”_ he warned her   
_”Promise?”_ She asked.   
_”Promise, you did tell me to make it difficult for you to forget me”_ He responded with a laugh.

 _”Oh, did you speak to your Mom about Thanksgiving?”_ El asked, suddenly remembering that they’d spoken about Mike visiting.   
_”Yeah, I’ll be there, don’t worry about it”_ He assured his worrying girlfriend

Mike sighed, it was getting close to the time that El had to go, they had only an hour and a half   
_”El, remember no one will ever be compared compare to you”_ he exclaimed. In response, she took her arms and wrapped them around him.   
_”Mike, remember: no one falls the way we fell: in the middle of the woods, in the pouring rain“_

 _”Mmh”_ He sighed, rapidly looking around the room to check if there was anyone there. When he saw was no one was there he quickly shut the door, hoping nobody would enter, then walked back to El.

Before he could get back, she stopped him _”Three inches”_ she said _”Excuse me?”_ he replied, not understanding what she meant. _”The door, Mike“_ he laughed and rushed back to the door, opening it slightly before moving in on El.

Or so he thought, but she beat him. Their lips crashed together for one last time, until Thanksgiving, of course, when Mike was going to visit the Byers family.   
Time seemed to stop; It seemed, for then, for that moment, that everything was going to be fine...

 _”You know El, it feels like every kiss suspends gravity or something”_ Mike proclaimed after they’d fallen apart. Soon enough, he remembered El’s powers: they could actually be lifted off the floor - if her powers worked, that is.

 _”My powers are gone, Mike”_   
_”I know, but it still feels that way inside”_ He then attempted to explain, but struggled _”I suppose it’s like, I don’t know, butterflies or somethi-“_   
_”I feel it too”_ She assured him.

Slowly, they moved closer, trying to go in for the actual final time when their moment was, ironically, broken by the increasing volume of Lucas and Max singing Never Ending Story together.

 _”Well, we should keep packing”_ El said, trying to focus on the larger task at hand. Mike agreed, now wanting to just get the pain over with.

El took her stuffed bear and went to Joyce to find out where she should put it. As she did, she saw Joyce reading a snippet of paper that had been removed from Hop’s uniform.

She spoke to Joyce and collected the note, before going and placing the bear down in its temporary location before heading back to her room to read the paper.

El slowly opened it, glancing at the content. It all made sense now - everything was slowly falling into place. As she read it, she could almost hear his voice in her head.

She soon realised that the paper she was holding was the same paper that Hop held on the evening he lied to Mike before forcing him to lie to her.

After she’d finished reading, she placed it in her shirt pocket and got up to continue with her packing. She wasn’t going to share it with Mike yet as he was having enough of a bad day as it was

_13:30_

_”We have to leave now”_ El informed Mike. He was stood looking around what they called her room. He was in some form of shock; part of him wanted to believe it wasn’t real.   
_”I know, just one last moment. For old time’s sake”_ Mike asked   
_”Why not?”_ El replied, shrugging her shoulders.

 _”Mike? Remember back in the cabin, before we fought the monster. You spoke about your feelings. That wasn’t a lie too, was it?”_   
_”Ah... Umm... No, I’m not sure I do?”_ he lied   
_”Come on Mike... I love you too”_ she revealed, instantaneously reducing Mike to a teary mess.

 _”Come here”_ he cried, pulling her tightly into a hug _”I love you El. I wasn’t lying. I- I don’t want to believe that this is goodbye”_   
_”Mike, please. Just... shhh”_ El spoke softly, trying to calm her boyfriend down.

 _”Come on kids!”_ Joyce shouted, causing Mike and El to shoot away from each other, which in turn made them laugh slightly

 _”Well then, this is goodbye”_ Will announced to the party, who were now all stood around in a circle outside the house.

 _”I can’t believe it. It only seems like we met yesterday”_ Max exclaimed   
_”I know, right”_ El said.

All of the party were now trying to hold their tears in, but that was getting progressively more difficult as the moment became ever closer.

They began their goodbyes, El and Mike purposefully avoided each other to ensure that everyone else got the attention they deserved.

Max made sure to give some words of wisdom to El, secretly hoping that El and Mike’s relationship would be able to last being long distance

Finally, El walked over to Mike, having saved the most painful goodbye until last.

 _”Don’t worry, we’ll get through this”_ El told Mike, wanting to try to stay calm, but accidentally making everything worse

 _”Yeah. Just— stay safe. Call me when you arrive, yeah?”_ Mike whimpered.   
_”Yeah— sure...”_ El tried to say, her voice giving in through the tears

 _”I’m so sorry to break you away, but we have to go”_ Joyce called from next to the van   
_”Goodbye El, remember I love you”_   
_”I love you too... Goodbye Mike”_ she said, her voice wavering as she walked to the van and got in.

 _”See you at Thanksgiving”_ Will said to Mike before he got into the car.   
_”Yeah, I can’t wait”_ Mike replied

_15 Minutes Later_

_”You said it, didn’t you”_ Joyce asked, hoping to try to calm El down slightly   
_”Yeah”_ El cried, nodding her head   
_”And what did he say?”_ Joyce enquired   
_”He said that— He said he loves me too”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No, I’m not crying, you are....  
> Ah fuck it, I _am_ crying.
> 
> This chapter got so much more special after I saw Suspending Gravity last month (November)


	17. Wish You Were Here

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Blimey, this chapter is the oldest of the lot, I finished it before the end of July

**4th July 1985**

It was there - right in front of her. The Mind Flayer. She desperately tried to move, but Billy was hunched over her, making sure she couldn’t move. She managed to turn her head just enough to be able to see Max and Mike.

Max was having to hold Mike back, he just wanted to run out there and try to save El. There wasn’t much he could do though. They’d already proven quite recently that Billy would have no issues taking down Mike.

And then, Mike managed to break free from Max’s grip. She stood there, shocked; he usually wouldn’t have been strong enough, but it was obvious to her that he was channeling all of his love and worry. He just wanted to save El. Max thought back to what he, likely accidentally, said in the cabin: he _loved_ El. Soon enough, he started taking slow steps towards Billy

Billy stood up, turning to look at Mike. Quickly, El started shifting away, back towards Max. Billy kept getting closer to Mike, but Mike had realised his mistake. Luckily for El, Mike distracted him enough that she made it to behind the planter - nearly home free

Mike started backing away, towards Max - but Billy came faster. Meanwhile, in the Soviet bunker: Joyce had nearly managed to turn the keys, so hopefully it wouldn’t be long now until the gate was closed and the Mind Flayer was gone for good.

That moment just couldn’t come soon enough. Billy made his way to Mike just as El propped herself up against the planter. One swift hit and Mike was down. There was nothing Max and El could do apart from watch. Billy lifted Mike up and carried him to where he had placed El earlier, giving him the same speech he gave everyone.

The girls both shut their eyes. The didn’t want to watch what was about to happen, neither did Nancy, Jonathan or the others watching from above.

A bloodcurdling scream filled the mall. El opened her eyes to see Mike on the floor, being attacked by the Mind Flayer. She burst into tears, on hearing her, Max opened her eyes to see the very same sight.

And then, the Mind Flayer and Billy simultaneously collapsed with a mighty thud. The group on the upper floor looked over the rails to see what had just gone on.   
The Mind Flayer was dead, finally, but so was Billy. Max ran over to him - mainly because of the situation, she felt sorry for him. She knew there was nothing they could do.

At the same time, El ran over to Mike and lifted him up, hoping that he would wake up. He was out of it, Billy hit him hard. It was clear that unless they were sat inside of the Emergency Room the second he got attacked, Mike was gone too; He had two large wounds where the Mind Flayer attacked.

El couldn’t stop crying.

**20th October 1985**

And then, suddenly, El woke up. It took her some time to catch on to what had just happened. She looked around the room until she found what she needed: a picture of her and Mike. Good, she thought. He was still alive, it was just a night terror...

She then had the sudden realisation that previously she thought she had woken up, but was still somewhere else, still out of it. Back when she found Billy, or more correctly, when Billy found her.   
Although this time, she didn’t have her powers. They were still incredibly weak, unable to do anything. She concluded that it was very likely that this was really the real world,

She sat up on her bed, staring herself out in the mirror with what little light was in the room, it was 2am after all.   
_”Mirror Mirror on the wall”_ she started, speaking quietly to ensure nobody else in the house could hear her _”Can you save me from today’s night terror?”_ she turned to look at the picture of her and Mike _”You got to help. You’ve got to help me try”_ she sighed. It wasn’t helping much.   
_”Here and now I’ll say it louder: I just wish that you were here”_ she raised her voice slightly - not enough to draw attention though. Or so she thought.

She lay back in bed, trying to get back to sleep. Soon enough, she heard movement: It was light steps, it had to be Joyce or Will.

Her suspicion was proved correct when Will slowly pushed her door open just enough to put his hand through to wave - he wanted to check on her, but wanted to make sure she was ok with it. _”It’s only me”_ he said, hoping that she would let him in - he desperately wanted to help. _”Come in”_ she replied, moving to sit up on the bed.   
Will entered the room slowly, and sat on the edge of her bed _”Are you ok? I heard crying”_ he asked. There was no hiding anything from Will, especially feelings - they didn’t call him Will the Wise for nothing.

 _”It was another night terror”_ she told him _”I was back in the Mall, on the Fourth, when I was near that monster”_ Will nodded, this was not the first time that this had happened. They had both been in this position before _”But... not Billy...”_ she stopped for a moment to take a breath, but started crying again. _”Billy didn’t get in front of the monster to save me - Mike did”_ Will didn’t know how to react, they had both had night terrors of a similar start, but none ended as bad as this _”After the monster died ... Max ran over to Billy and I ran over to Mike”_ she struggled with the words through the tears. _”I held him as he died...”_ she stopped suddenly. She couldn’t retell it anymore, it hurt too much to think about.

**The next morning**

As Jonathan left, Will and El joined Joyce at the table for breakfast. They both knew that they would have to tell their mother about why they were awake at 2 AM. Will, however, knew that she would understand, it wasn’t the first, and it certainly wouldn’t be the last.

After they all finished breakfast, Joyce decided to figure out what was going on last night, she thought she heard crying, but wasn’t sure. _”Did anything happen last night? I thought that I heard crying.”_ she asked, not really expecting an answer. Will and El looked at each other.   
_”I had another night terror”_ El explained _”Will heard me crying and came in to check I was ok”_ Joyce looked over at Will, she had no reason to doubt El’s story.   
_”Would you like to tell me what it was about?”_ She asked. El nodded and between her and Will, they explained what had happened.

 _”Would you like to call Mike, to assure yourself?”_ Joyce asked, wanting to help El in any way possible. _”It’s alright, I’m going to speak to him later anyway”_ She told her mother in response, as she walked back into her room.

 _”Thank you for going in to check on her last night, Will”_ Joyce knew that it was important to set the precedent that doing so was ok, as they were family now. _”It’s alright mom, really”_ he assured her.

She was glad they both helped each other. Their similar experiences really helped them bond, although not always for the good reasons. As a wise man once said, they had shared trauma.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really enjoyed writing this, this has been quite possibly one of my favourites to write, even if it genuinely upsets me to read.


	18. “What If I Don’t Want You To Go?”

**Wednesday, 1984-11-27**

After Mike got off his plane he made a beeline for the exit to find Joyce. Luckily, as he was only staying for 4 nights, he’d managed to fit everything into a carry-on bag, which meant he could avoid the queues getting a bigger bag.

He had been questioned multiple times by various people during his time in the air and at both airports - he put it down to it being unusual for a 14 year old to be flying alone to see his girlfriend halfway across the country.

When he made it out and through to the arrivals area, he started looking for Joyce, who was going to be waiting to pick him up and take him back to her house.

 _”Hey Mike”_ Joyce said as he walked over towards her after he’d eventually spotted her, not too far from the exit to the parking lot.   
_”Thanks so much for coming to get me”_ He responded   
_”It’s no problem, I can’t have you getting a taxi all the way to our house at this time of night”_ Joyce told him as they walked towards her car.

 _”How far from the airport is your house?”_ Mike asked as he only had a vague idea of the location. The map he had looked at wasn’t vastly detailed.   
_”It’s about a half hour. Go to sleep if you want, I’ll wake you up when we arrive”_ She told him. Mike knew it would be smart to get some rest. There would be no way he was going to get any when he got there - he and El would likely spend the whole night talking.

 _”Mike! Come here”_ El squealed as he entered the house   
_”At least let him get in the doo—“_ Joyce attempted to tell El, but was interrupted, so gave in. She didn’t have the heart to deny them this moment.   
_”It’s so nice to see you again”_ Mike told his excited girlfriend, greeting her with a hug   
_”Yeah, it’s been nearly 2 months”_ She added

 _”I know, I’m just glad to be here. Thanks for having me”_ Mike told everyone, including Will, who had now entered the hall to see what the noise was.   
_”It’s no problem Mike”_ Joyce told him

 _”Hi Mike”_ Will said   
_”Hey Will”_ Mike responded, waving at him.   
_”Would you like to put your bags down?”_ Joyce asked, looking over at El to tell her to lead Mike to where he was staying.   
_”Yeah, that’d be great— Where am I staying?”_ Mike asked when he realised he didn’t know where he was staying.   
_”My room”_ El informed him quietly

 _”We’ll give you a tour of the place tomorrow, but it’s late now...”_ Joyce told him, knowing he’d want to have a look around.

Immediately after Joyce finished speaking, El grabbed her boyfriend’s arm and dragged him towards the stairs, leading him up to her room.

 _”Cool, you have stairs now”_ Mike commented, while still being dragged by El.   
_”It’s pretty sweet, isn’t it”_ Will shouted from the bottom of the stairs   
_”Yeah. I bet it was weird adjusting though”_ Mike shouted back   
_”Of course”_ El and Will replied simultaneously.

By this point, El and Mike had made it to her room. He dumped his bags down on the far side of the room; not that the room was large, just average sized.   
_”You can put your sleeping bag down there, yes?”_ El asked, pointing at the empty space on the floor. Mike nodded in response and began getting it out.

After he’d done so, him and El both sat down on the bed to have a moment to catch their breath.

Having not seen each other for getting on two months, sitting on the bed to catch a breath quickly turned into having no breath because they were too busy making out.

The teens figured that time must’ve flown by because soon enough, Joyce was calling them down for dinner.

After dinner, Mike and El got themselves ready to begin settling down for bed before going and sitting down on El’s bed. They sat for what seemed like hours talking about various things. The hours just flew by, especially since they hadn’t seen each other in so long.

**Thursday, 1985-11-28**

_”Hey, good morning”_ El said, watching Mike slowly get up and adjust to where he was   
_”Oh! Morning El”_ He replied quietly, trying to get his bearings. He’d had a long day yesterday and didn’t remember much past 9pm.

 _”I never made it into my bed then”_ He laughed when he saw his sleeping bag on the floor.   
_”No, we were talking and cuddling and you fell asleep - I didn’t want to wake you up, so I left you on top and I got in”_ She explained slowly

 _”Thanks for that, I think it was for the best”_ He told her   
_”Well, Breakfast?”_ El asked, hoping he’d woken up enough to move   
_”Why the hell not?”_ He said, before clambering off from El’s bed

The pair then went downstairs to have their breakfast. Neither could be bothered to get changed yet, so they didn’t.   
_”Morning both. Looks like you had a good sleep”_ Joyce commented, taking a glance at the clock while she spoke.   
_”Yeah, it seems like it”_ Mike said

 _”What time did you get to sleep”_ Joyce questioned was she knew Mike was extremely worn out when he arrived.   
_”I don’t remember, did you see, El?”_ Mike admitted   
_”I think I noticed you sleeping at about 10pm”_ El told her boyfriend

 _”Did you, per-chance, accidentally fall asleep?”_ Joyce therefore asked.   
_”It sure sounds like it”_ Mike replied. Joyce looked over at El and raised an eyebrow.   
_”He did”_ A giggling El told her

The group then set out on eating their breakfast, which Mike wolfed down.

 _”Now you’ve finished breakfast, do you want to give Mike a tour of the house?”_ Joyce asked, looking at El   
_”Of course, I’d love to”_ El responded happily

Mike then followed El around the house as he was shown the kitchen diner, garden, Will’s room (with permission, of course). He was happy that they’d managed to get a house with enough space for all of them.

Throughout the remainder of the day until the main dinner, the group all helped Joyce prepare.

_That Night_

_”Mike, I think there’s something I should tell you”_ El said quietly, thinking back to her nightmare that happened over a month prior. That had been the worst yet, and she was still feeling it now.   
_”Sure, I’m all ears”_ He said, not knowing what to expect from her.

 _”A- A month or so ago I had another nightmare”_ She admitted   
_”Ah shit. Can you tell me what it was?”_ Mike exclaimed in response. He knew by now that it was best for her to talk them out.

 _”It was in the mall... back on the fourth...”_ El began slowly, still messing up her words. It had never been easy for her to explain her nightmares, even to Mike.   
_”W-What about the fourth”_ He asked hesitantly   
_”When Billy had me against the floor for the Mind Flayer... You ran over to help me”_   
_”Ah, shit”_ Mike said under his breath, knowing exactly where this was going.

 _”Max was trying to hold you back, but you escaped... He got you — you went with him, Mike”_ She cried, reaching out to touch his face just to make sure he was real and this wasn’t a dream.

 _”El, look at me”_ Mike directed. He knew just what to do to prove this was reality, that she wasn’t dreaming, that she was just fine - and how to calm her down.   
When she looked up, he leaned towards her, pressing his lips against hers

 _”Do you feel better now?”_ He asked after they’d pulled away.   
_”Yeah, much better”_ She replied, still giddy from their kiss.

 _”Shall we go to bed now - it’s getting awfully late?”_ Mike asked, sitting up.

 _”Ah, who am I kidding, we should just face it: neither of us want to sleep apart, do we?”_ Mike quietly exclaimed, he was sat on the edge of his girlfriend’s bed, about to move off and get into his bed.

 _”Yeah, please stay”_ El asked, also keeping her voice to a whisper. Mike hesitated for a moment, knowing Joyce didn’t want them sharing a bed yet.   
_”Come on, it’s a bit chilly under here”_ She invited whilst getting under the covers.   
_”Alright - of course I’ll join you”_ He said, joining El under the covers and pulling her closer.

 _”Get yourself comfortable, don’t worry about me”_ He told her.   
_”Are you sure?”_ She asked, wanting to ensure that he was comfortable too.   
_”Yes, come on”_ He said. El moved herself so that she was facing Mike, while making sure to not get too close.

Mike was unsure what to do now - he didn’t want to get up too close and personal, as they were both still only 14 and it was only their second time sharing a bed. He decided to wrap his arms around her, El then decided to do the same back - which had the side effect of pulling them closer; not that they were complaining.

 _”I could get used to this”_ A tired El said softly after being cuddled up with Mike for a few minutes. It wasn’t long before she was sleeping, so Mike slowly kissed her forehead before going to sleep himself.

**Saturday, 1985-11-30**

_”Well, it’s nearly time that I be heading off”_ Mike whispered in his girlfriend’s ear   
_”What if I don’t want you to go?”_ Sadly she asked   
_”I don’t want to go, El, but I have to”_ He reminded her   
_”I know”_ She said quietly, almost not wanting to admit she knew he couldn’t stay.

 _”Don’t worry, we’ll see each other in 3 weeks for Christmas”_ Mike told his girlfriend, trying to ensure that this goodbye was as painless as possible.

 _”Yeah, that’s pretty good”_ she said   
_”Come on, I know you can make it three weeks”_ He entrusted

 _”Mike! It’s time”_ Joyce shouted from the bottom of the stairs   
_”Coming”_ He shouted in response, getting up and grabbing his bag.

 _”I’ll see you at Christmas, yeah, don’t worry - You’ll be just swell”_ he assured his worrying girlfriend as they reached the front door.

 _”Bye Mike, stay safe and say hey to everyone for me”_ Will said as Mike walked towards the door   
_”Of course, see you at Christmas Will”_ Mike responded

 _”I love you Mike”_ She whimpered as they walked to the car. Mike chucked his bag in the trunk before going towards the door, El following him.   
_”I love you more!”_ He told her as she shut the car door, a tear rolling down her cheek.   
As the car pulled away, he tried to avoid looking back at her, while she turned around to avoid watching him leave. As usual, she found comfort in Will, who she’d grown rather close with.

_Some time later_

_”Hey El”_ Mike spoke down the phone; He knew calling wouldn’t be cheap, but knew he needed to tell them he got home safely.   
_”You’re home?”_ She asked hopefully   
_”Yeah, that’s why I called. Thanks for having me”_ He said tiredly - because of his long day of travelling.   
_”It’s no problem, we’re happy to have you”_ She reminded him

 _”I’d love to talk longer, but dinner is ready. Love you”_ He told her, getting ready to put the phone down.   
_”Bye Mike, I love you too”_ She responded


	19. Baby Please Come Home (Part 1)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I even fixed the error present in the wattpad version for y’all

**Tuesday, 1985-12-17  
** _08:15_

Mike slowly rose out of bed, peeking through his curtains to be met with a snow filled scene. It was going to be a snow day, again. Already there were some of the neighbours with younger kids outside playing.

 _”Now the snows coming down, and I’m watching it fall. Watching the people around...”_ Mike whispered to himself.   
_”Baby please come home”_ he sighed, an element of despair in his voice.

Mike loved snow days, but this year, it was strange not having El around. Last year, he got to show her all the wonders of Christmas, decorating, playing in the snow like the younger kids and so forth. Knowing she wouldn’t be arriving for another 6 days, he flopped back down into bed.

He eventually concluded that getting out of bed and doing something productive would make him feel better.   
After getting breakfast and learning that yes, his school was closed today, he made his way down to the basement to work on preparing it for Christmas.

Despite it being just over a week away, he still hadn’t put the tree up yet; Maybe doing it now would ease him slightly. With that, he set to work...

_09:45_

After some time of fiddling around with branches and getting tangled in lights, Mike stepped back to admire his handiwork and to plug the lights in for the first time this year proper.

As he did so, he thought back to last year, when El plugged in the lights that they’d decorated Hop’s cabin with.   
He then stood around for a moment, fairly happy with what he’d done, but still unable to stop thinking back to last year.

 _”Pretty lights on a tree. I’ve been watching them shine. You should be here with me.”_ Mike muttered to himself, to some extend he felt as if she was there with him - but he knew she wouldn’t be.

Throughout the day, Mike continued doing errands to ensure the house was looking great before Christmas.

_15:50_

_”Mike, Honey, we need to talk about the Byers visiting”_ Karen shouted into the basement. Quickly, she heard footsteps rushing up the stairs; Mike wasn’t usually that quick, but there was no way she was going to complain.

 _”Yes, Mom?”_ Mike replied, now stood in the kitchen with his mother.   
_”We need to think about where everyone will sleep when the Byers visit”_ she introduced, before giving Mike some unsurprising news _”Joyce has graciously volunteered to take the sofa-bed”_

 _”Well, I was thinking that I could give my bedroom to Will an-”_ Mike explained, before being interrupted by his mother’s questions _”And where would you sleep? Where would El sleep?”_   
_”Well, I could set a pair of sleeping bags in the basement and El and I could sleep down there”_ he attempted to explain, but Karen was having none of it _”No! There’s no way that’s happening!”_   
_”But why Mom? She’s my girlfriend!”_ Mike exclaimed, getting mildly angry

 _”Surely, Mike, that’s more reason not to let you share a room with her”_   
_”No-no-no!”_ He quickly stuttered when he realised what she was getting at _”We would never do anything”_

 _”Come on, it’s not like we see each other constantly now. I haven’t seen her in nearly a month”_ he pleaded, but his mother had made up her mind _”No means no, Michael”_ he knew it was over just because she referred to him by his full name, but tried pleading again anyway _”Please Mom, at least sleep on the idea. Maybe ask dad - or even Joyce?”_

**Wednesday, 1985-12-18**

_”Mike?”_ Ted shouted similarly to Karen the day prior. Again, Mike dashed up the stairs; this time eagerly hoping they’d changed their minds on Mike and El sharing the basement. He was met by his father who led him into the lounge, then told to take a seat. As he walked to the lounge, he passed his mother on the telephone in the kitchen talking to someone with a name sounding close to Joyce.

 _”You and your mom spoke yesterday about the Byers visiting?”_ Ted confirmed with Mike reluctantly nodding in response.   
_”I respect that you’re willing to give up your bedroom for Will, but where will you sleep?”_ he continued, with Mike’s expectations somehow lowering slightly.   
_”I told mom yesterday that I would put a pair of sleeping bags in the basement for El and I”_ Mike explained again. Did these people actually talk to each other?

 _”El is your girlfriend?”_ Ted enquired. Mike, now aggravated because of his father’s inability to remember his own son’s girlfriend’s name, viciously nodded his head.   
_”You want to sleep in the same room as her?”_ Ted attempted to understand; Mike continued his nodding.

 _”Hmph. Maybe me and your mother can sort it out”_ he told Mike

As if by magic, at that moment, Karen walked in   
_”I just got off the phone with Joyce, she says that she doesn’t mind El sharing the basement with you. She obviously trusts you”_ she documented carefully, making Mike’s face light up.   
_”We should too then”_ Ted agreed   
_”Okay, so: Will can sleep in your room and we’ll get the sleeping mats out for you and El.”_ his mother confirmed.

After a brief discussion about related topics, Mike went back down to the basement, happy as can be.

**Monday, 1985-12-23**   
_08:30_

Mike woke up, immediately shooting out of bed. Today was the day! The day El finally came back home for Christmas!   
Quickly, he got himself ready and had breakfast before having a realisation: he had no idea at what time the Byers would be arriving.

He spoke to his mother while eating breakfast, but was told that she was also unsure, it was going to depend heavily on the weather and so forth. Mike was somewhat upset that nobody knew when she was arriving, but continued with his day nevertheless.

He went down to the basement to prepare it for when they did arrive. Mike had gotten the mats and sleeping bags out the day prior so he could be somewhere organised.

Eventually, he finished with doing that; sitting back to have a moment to try to calm himself slightly   
_”Remember when you were here and all the things we had last year”_ He whispered to himself, looking at the pictures of him and El that adorned the basement - especially those with her holding her SuperCom which he bought.

For the rest of the day, Mike sat around, watching Christmas films and playing Atari - helping his parents where necessary, of course.

_18:00_

Suddenly, the Wheeler’s doorbell rang. Mike glanced out of the window on his way to the door, he could see their taxi pulling away.

When he answered the door, he was met by El, Joyce and Will. He briskly invited them in, wanting to get them out of the cold.

The group moved inside quickly, removing their outdoor coats and shoes. As this was happening, Karen (and Holly) also joined Mike in welcoming them, eager to offer them a warm drink.

 _”Where is everyone sleeping”_ Joyce asked, eager for everyone to get settled down, as they’d had a long day of travelling.   
_”Right, so Will: you’re sleeping in my bedroom”_ Mike explained   
_”And where does that put you? What about El?”_ A confused Will asked   
_”Aha! Myself and El are sleeping in the basement - I have mats and sleeping bags”_ Mike then continued explaining

 _”Do you want to get your bags away and unpacked while I make drinks and dinner?”_ Karen asked, directing the kids to where they were sleeping.

 _”Thanks so much for having us”_ Joyce said, starting to move her bags   
_”It’s no problem, really”_ Karen responded on her way to the kitchen

Mike and El quickly made their way down to the basement for El to unpack, whilst Will did the same in Mike’s bedroom.

The rest of the evening was uneventful after dinner as the group was so tired; Mike, El, and Will all fell asleep in the basement watching Christmas films.   
The excitement for Christmas Day was still extremely present despite the general feelings of tiredness.


	20. Baby Please Come Home (Part 2)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Christmas special, he says. This was written in October, I only half remember writing it

**Wednesday, 1985-12-25**

_”Merry Christmas El!”_ Mike whispered cheerily when he realised that El had woken up   
_”Merry Christmas Mike”_ she responded quietly, a hint of excitement still detectable however.

The pair were buzzing, ready for the festivities. This made them rush upstairs, to be met by Will, who had also awoken excitedly.   
The commotion cause everyone else in the house to wake up, thereby getting Christmas Day started.

When everyone was in a reasonably respectable state, the sharing of presents began - apart from between Mike, El and Will of course - they would wait for the party to arrive. They did, however, all open presents from their families.

After opening presents, Mike, El and Will headed back down to the basement to talk about and play with their presents.

What El didn’t know, however, was that Mike was going to break the tradition about sharing presents when the party arrived as he had gotten El something that he wanted to present to just her.

Mike had managed to successfully keep his gift a secret from everyone apart from Nancy, who helped him pick it out.   
When Will had gone upstairs to talk, Mike saw his chance, he quickly grabbed the wrapped box from its hiding spot and handed it to El.

 _”I know we don’t usually do this until later, but I want you to open it now”_ He explained to his confused girlfriend.   
She gently unwrapped the box, to reveal another box. She lifted the lid off to reveal a small locket.

 _”Mike!”_ El exclaimed, placing her hands over her mouth when she realised what it was.   
_”Open the little door”_ He instructed. She did as he said to reveal a small picture of the couple that Joyce had taken a few months before they moved away. A picture El kept beside her bed since she arrived at the new house.

 _”I love it, it’s beautiful. Thank you”_ She told him, trying not to cause too much commotion.   
_”It’s no problem, it really isn’t - not for you at least”_ He assured her.

Shortly after El calmed down, Will came back down the stairs with a tape in his hand - it wouldn’t be Christmas Day without a Christmas film!

After Will had loaded the tape into the player, he headed back to sit down. On his way, he noticed something different about El, but couldn’t put his finger on what it was.

He sat and tried to watch the film, but was distracted by his thoughts. Eventually, El got up to go upstairs to get a drink - giving Will a chance to look at her. What he saw was her new little locket.

 _”Mike, where did El’s locket come from - she wasn’t wearing it earlier?”_ Will asked, thinking that the answer sat right in front of him.   
_”I gave it to her; I know I broke tradition”_ Mike informed his friend, who was not surprised.   
_”It’s no problem”_ Will insisted.

Shortly after, the pair were rejoined by El.   
_”Nice locket”_ Will complemented   
_”Thank you! Mike gave it to me”_ She replied happily   
_”I figured”_ Will then told her. With that, they unpaused the film and continued watching.

During the film, Mike heard the basement door open and his Mom shout down. His grandparents had arrived.

As the group walked up the stairs, Mike realised that his grandparents had never met El before; they had merely heard of her.

 _”Why hello Mike.”_ His Nana called from in the kitchen. Mike ran over to greet her, leaving El with Will.   
_”And Will too”_ she continued. Will and El kept walked towards her.

 _”Who do we have here, I don’t believe we’ve been properly introduced?”_ Mike’s grandad asked, looking at El   
_”Nana, grandad, this is my girlfriend, El”_ Mike introduced, waving his hand to get El to come over.   
_”Hi”_ El spoke nervously.

El, Mike and his grandparents slowly went through the motions to introduce El to them. They were shocked when they found out she was Will’s sister — they thought Will had a brother. Everyone neglected to correct them. It would be easier not to.

After Mike’s grandparents left, everyone stayed in the lounge as dinner was almost ready. The kids quickly set the table when asked before sitting down whilst the adults carried the food in.   
When everything was set out and everyone was ready, it was time to tuck in.

It seemed like no time to Mike until his plate was completely empty - he sure did love a Christmas dinner.

After dinner, not completely dissimilarly to the year prior, Mike, El and Will sat around and continued to discuss their gifts while watching films for the rest of the day waiting for everyone to arrive. This year, as the party had limited time together, everyone was arriving at the earlier time of 17:30.

Due to his proximity, Lucas arrived first, with Max in tow, of course. They were follow by Dustin, who was running slightly late.

When everyone had arrived and had gotten settled, they began the annual Christmas present opening around Mike’s basement tree. Nobody yet had noticed El’s locket.

Part way through the gifting tradition, El leant forward to grab a present; in doing so, she revealed her new locket to the rest of the party.

 _”What’s that, El”_ Dustin inquired   
_”It looks pretty”_ Max added   
_”Oh, it’s a locket. Mike gave it to me”_ She told them, pulling it away from her and opening it to reveal the picture inside.

 _”Aww”_ Max cooed _”You did good, Mike”_   
Lucas looked at Mike, then El and then at Max as if he was taking a mental note of what to get his girlfriend for her birthday.

After some more gifts, films, partying and snacks, Max and Lucas began feeling tired, so headed home - leaving Mike, El, Will, and Dustin.

At some point, Dustin’s mother called, asking for him to make his way home. The remaining group checked the time, it was 22:30!   
_”Well, that was great, thanks for having me”_ Dustin said before quickly darting towards the door as to get home as fast as possible.

That left El, Mike and Will, who were starting to get tired themselves - this came as no surprise, it had been a busy day.

Eventually, Will decided to head up to bed - leaving Mike and El. Therefore, the couple decided that they too would start settling down for bed.

**Saturday, 1985-12-28  
** _09:30_

As usual, Mike and El woke up, eventually thinking that they should get out of their beds and do something. However, when the realisation that it was El’s last day hit, they suddenly stopped and laid back down - Mike moving his bed closer to El’s so they embrace each other until she had to leave.

_09:45_

_”When are we going to see each other next?”_ El asked   
_”Maybe we’d be able to see each other in my next holiday”_

 _”And after that the next big holiday is summer?”_ She quizzed, not wanting to wish her time away, but wanting to be able to spend tonnes of time with Mike   
_”Yes, but let’s enjoy what time we have until then”_ he concluded, with El deeply agreeing.

 _”For now, we should probably have breakfast”_ El giggled   
_”Eggos?”_ Mike asked, already knowing the answer.

_10:30_

After Mike had brushed his teeth, he saw El with her small suitcase, preparing to pack up.

 _”Would you like a hand?”_ He asked, now willing to do menial tasks just to be with her.   
_”Yes please”_ she replied politely, so he quickly joined her.

Packing quickly went the same way of everything with Mike and El: they went from actually packing to laughing and then to sucking face in almost no steps.

Mike was determined to make this memorable, which he considered a success when he felt El tense up as he ran his fingers around her neck and collarbone.

 _”Wow”_ they both exclaimed when they pulled away, wasting no time before moving in again.

_13:00_

El and Mike joined for one last embrace before they became separated once again.   
_”I love you Mike”_ El told him, trying not to get too emotional.   
_”I love you more”_ he informed her before giving her a kiss goodbye.   
_”We’ll see about you coming over, yeah?”_ Joyce interrupted before pulling them apart.

 _”Bye El, Bye Will”_ Mike said as the group walked towards the car.   
_”Goodbye Mike. Remember I love you”_ She shouted back from next to the car, Joyce signalling for her to hurry up and get in so they could beat the traffic.   
_”I love you too”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While this book is based off Marianas Trench songs, it’s possible to see which Taylor Swift song was stuck in my head when I wrote each chapter...  
> In this case, it’s “Dancing With Our Hands Tied”


	21. Call Me Maybe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Information in this chapter is provided for entertainment purposes and is now obsolete. Do not try this at home.  
> (Some information is purposefully omitted)

It had been a fairly slow day for Mike: he’d finished all his homework and done all his chores. He sat lounging around in the basement until he heard his SuperCom buzz.

 _”Hello?”_ Mike asked   
_”I have a question for you”_ Dustin said, not giving Mike a chance to speak after he’d answered the phone _”How do you talk to El when you’re apart?”_

 _”Your cerebro, of course, and very occasionally the phone, why?”_ Mike said, confused as to just why Dustin needed to ask the question, since he knew the answer.

 _”Good! Come over, I need to show you something”_ Dustin told him before turning off his SuperCom before Mike could even ask any further questions.

As Mike had nothing better to do, he got on his bike and made his way over to Dustin’s house.

_”I have something really cool, you need to see it”_ Dustin explained to Mike as they walked into Dustin’s room - Mike was slightly concerned, Dustin’s idea of cool did not always match Mike’s idea of cool.

 _”We both have long distance girlfriends, we need to talk to those girlfriends”_ Dustin began _”Luckily for us, our girlfriends know radio, so we can use Cerebro - and keep the phone for urgent stuff”_

 _”Some people don’t have this luxury, and need to make long distance calls... Do you follow?”_ Dustin said, confusing Mike   
_”I follow”_ Mike lied - whilst he understood everything Dustin was saying, he didn’t know why he needed to be told this.

 _”As you and I both know: long distance calls aren’t cheap - that’s where this cool technique comes in”_ Dustin told Mike   
_”Right?”_ he responded, suddenly, everything Dustin had said was making sense.

 _”One thing though, this isn’t completely legal, so you didn’t hear this from me, right?”_ Dustin confirmed.   
_”No, never”_ Mike told him

 _”Good”_ Dustin said as he walked over to his dresser to pick up a small tool, before taking it back over to Mike _”You’ll need one of these. Luckily for you, I have a stash of them in a drawer”_   
_”But, why?”_ Mike asked   
_”Just stick with me”_ Dustin pleaded

 _”First, know their number - that’s a good start. Next, pick up the phone and dial this number”_ Dustin advised before pointing to a phone number written on a sticky note next to his telephone.   
_”Why this one”_ Mike asked, a confused look on his face

 _”Not just this one - any freephone number. I just have this one memorised”_ Dustin explained. Mike nodded, now starting to understand how this was going to work. He didn’t believe Dustin had the number memorised, however, he hardly knew what time school started.

 _”And then what you’re going to want to do is get your tool and cover it like this”_ He explained, placing his fingers over the tool as required. Mike nodded, taking note of his hand position.   
_”And then blow. Not for long, a second or two”_

Dustin then blew into the tool, causing it to make a horrid tone.   
_”What do I do then?”_ Mike inquired   
_”Dial their number and voilà”_ Dustin instructed him.

 _”Look, try with this one”_ Dustin said, getting one of the tools out of its bag. Mike copied Dustin’s method and produced the same horrid tone, before moving it away and smiling.

 _”You want to see it in action?”_ Dustin asked, eager to demonstrate.   
_”Of course I do”_ Mike responded with excitement   
_”I’m going to call a friend from camp, okay?”_ Dustin explained

 _”Where is he from?”_ Mike asked, hoping it would be reasonably distant, so he could see it truly working.   
_”Kansas”_ Dustin said, picking up his phone and dialling the first number   
_”Plenty far enough away for this to work”_ He then added, dialling his friends number.

Mike was in awe when Dustin’s friend actually answered the phone. The pair had a brief conversation, including Dustin introducing Mike, before his friend had to leave.

 _”Wow! I can’t wait to try it”_ Mike exclaimed   
_”But you didn’t hear it from me, remember”_ Dustin interrogated again   
_”No”_ Mike said before Dustin handed him a small bag filled with identical tools.

With that, Mike headed off back home. He decided that he would try it when everyone else was out, so that nobody else tried to use the phone.

**A few days later**

Mike decided that today would be the day that he tried Dustin’s method to allow him to call El on the cheap. He had his tool, he had the phone numbers and was therefore ready to go.

When his family left the house for an outing to the supermarket, he decided it was prime time for calling El, or attempting to, at least.

He knew it was unlikely for Joyce to be in, and Will frequently had his radio too loud to be able to hear the telephone anyway.

He picked up the phone and followed Dustin’s steps to the letter, eventually landing him at a beep from the phone, after entering El’s number he was connected.

 _”Hey El”_ He said after she’d answered the phone.   
_”Oh! Hi Mike. I wasn’t expecting you to call, how are you?”_ She said, slightly confused. Usually, Mike didn’t call unless he needed to speak quickly - when it was too urgent to wait for their time when they could talk over Cerebro.

 _”I’m great, how are you?”_ He asked, very pleased that this had worked and he could talk to his girlfriend without worrying about paying.   
_”Confused, honestly, I thought Joyce said we shouldn’t use the phone because it’s expensive?”_ She explained _”But it’s nice to talk to you, so I’m fine I guess”_

 _”I know, I know - Don’t worry about the phone”_ Mike told her. He desperately wanted to explain to her, but there was no way he’d explain over the phone. He could always explain over Cerebro tomorrow.

 _”Oh, in that case: How’s school been?”_ She asked. She was no less confused as she was earlier, but decided it wasn’t worth getting worked up over.

 _”It’s been okay, you know how it is”_ He told her.   
_”I don’t really, I’m being homeschooled”_ She reminded him, prompting him to explain what he actually meant: that she knew how life was - it hadn’t been that long since they’d last spoken.

At some point during the call, El’s tutor arrived, meaning they had to stop talking while El had her lesson.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some people may know how this works - go you. Others won’t, which is fine, since the method likely predates you.   
> (It predates me too)


	22. Landslide

**Saturday, 1986-04-04  
** _5 hours before Mike lands_

_”El, before you go back upstairs, we need to talk”_ Joyce called as El turned around to leave the kitchen. She’d only just eaten breakfast and was going to start getting herself ready for seeing Mike.  
_”I think I’ve decided that you and Mike are mature enough and sensible enough to share the bed now”_ She told the girl honestly.

 _”Really?”_ El asked with a gasp; soon realising that it was coming up on their 15th birthdays, so Joyce was starting to let them go slightly.  
_”Well, I can hardly stop you, can I?”_ Joyce laughed, trying not to give her game away.  
_”I guess”_ El replied, now mildly confused.

 _”Well, that’s all. We’re leaving in a few hours, so make sure your room is tidy for Mike”_ Joyce told her daughter, who then ran off towards the stairs.

_An hour before_

_”Come on El, we need to go and get Mike soon”_ Joyce shouted from the bottom of the stairs. She wanted to be able to beat the traffic and get there nice and early.

 _”One moment”_ El shouted back, jumping up off of her bed and turning off the radio. She’d spent the past hour or so cleaning her room up ready for Mike’s visit. Not having to clear space for his sleeping bag, however, made her life much easier.

The pair got in the car and raced off towards the airport. As Joyce anticipated, they got stuck in a traffic jam. Eventually, they arrived 15 minutes before Mike was scheduled to land and made their way into the arrivals hall.

Just as Joyce and El found a spot to stand, Mike was leaving the plane. He once again cut down on the time spent in the airport by fitting all of his clothing into his carry-on.

As soon as Mike saw El and Joyce he ran towards them - not caring in the slightest what those around him thought; He had an opportunity to spend just shy of a week with El and nobody was going to waste but a minute of it.

After their pleasantries, the group headed to the car, quickly getting in - Mike and El opting to sit together in the back seat so that they could talk.

 _”Am I in the sleeping bag again?”_ Mike asked El quietly, nudging her and raising his eyebrows slightly.  
_”No, I think you’re responsible enough to share the bed if you want”_ Joyce butted in.  
_”Are you sure?”_ Mike asked. El nodded before chuckling quietly. Neither of them thought that Joyce knew that they’d shared El’s bed before.

 _”Yes, just don’t do anything you’ll regret. Not that you would anyway.”_ Inside, Joyce knew they’d shared the bed before, but she wasn’t going to let them know that. Part of the reason she’d decided to explicitly allow it was because they would just do it anyway.

The couple continued talking on the journey with Joyce joining in occasionally. They again got stuck in traffic before eventually arriving home.

When they arrived, they were met by Will and Jonathan, who had come to visit from college and was beginning to prepare dinner to take stress away from his mother.

The rest of the evening was reasonably uneventful, as was standard after travelling since Mike was worn out.

 _”Are you tired, you look it?”_ El asked softly, she knew he’d had a big day with travelling and all.  
_”Yeah: I think I’m ready for bed”_ He told his girlfriend whilst rubbing his eyes.  
_”Come on then, let’s get in”_ She invited quickly, wanting to savour every moment they had together.

 _”Miiike, come closer - I want to cuddle”_ El whispered. Mike did as he was told and wrapped his arms around El - ensuring to keep her close, but not too close.

 _”Is that good?”_ He asked; In response, El wiggled herself closer towards Mike - smiling as she did so.  
_”That’s better”_ She quietly exclaimed when she’d finished.

The couple were now mere inches away from each other; When El asked Mike to move closer, he wasn’t quite expecting this close - but he liked it.

 _”Are you alright? Would you like me to move?”_ She asked quickly, unsure of his facial expression.  
_”No! Definitely not! Stay here”_ He told her, he was happy at that moment and wouldn’t change it for the world _”I’m just tired, that’s all”_

 _”Me too”_ She replied softly, not realising that Mike had closed his eyes. When she did eventually realise, she did the same.

**Monday, 1986-04-06**

As Mike and El had been rather busy, with having Easter Sunday and all, they decided that now would be a fine afternoon to talk about comics

As Mike had some packed in his bag, mainly so he could read them on the flight there and back, he got up to get them so he could show El.

Shortly after, Mike rejoined El on the bed, comics in hand. Initially, they were sat discussing them and some other recent releases when they somehow made the jump to kissing.

El eventually decided that she wasn’t close enough to Mike, so scooted closer. Mike quickly caught on and used his hands, which by this point were on her waist, to pull her up onto his lap; all without breaking the kiss.

This kissing continued until Mike, not really bothered about the noise (Everyone else had gone out anyway), decided that this kiss would be better off laying down - to do so, he wiggled El off his lap before pulling away, just to be sure _”Can we... lie down?”_ he giggled. El nodded and allowed Mike to lower her down onto the bed.

Once they were down, El firmly ingrained her hands into Mike’s hair - which kept him nice and close. She did however, want to pull away - she had something important to say.

 _”More”_ She whispered right into Mike’s ear. Mike never thought that he’d hear such a thing said in that way - god it did things to him.  
_”How much more?”_ Mike asked with a grin - he clearly had _something_ on his mind.  
_”Mike - more”_ She decreed. They’d known each other long enough to know when the other was reaching their limit, so she felt it unnecessary to tell him. She could always stop him if needed.

Mike leant back in towards El, but instead of going for her lips, he moved towards her jawline and neck.

At first, he felt El shiver at his touch whenever he pressed his lips against her skin. Soon though, those shivers turned into small whimpers, sending Mike absolutely crazy. The noises only made him want to continue more.

Mike eventually decided that his hands, which were currently on the bed, would be better off on El - so moved them back onto her waist as they were earlier.  
It wasn’t long before his hands started wandering, his fingers starting to make their way under her shirt.

Despite it not nearly being the first time that Mike’s hands had ventured up her shirt, they still elicited a shiver and a grin.

El, keen to make some impression, also moved her hands from Mike’s hair to his shirt - following his lead.  
Mike was starting to get concerned over just how far they were going to go, but knew that they’d stop before going too far.

As Mike’s hands slowly and carefully moved up her shirt, progressively pulling it up to reveal more skin, she reciprocated.

Meanwhile, Mike continued on El’s neck before heading back up to her lips because he was missing her taste.

The couple were however, reaching a point of no return: both teens had their hands in such positions where they’d be able to remove the other’s shirt.  
Mike was trying to be very careful as to the position of his hands, not wanting to touch somewhere he shouldn’t yet.

 _”Can I?”_ El asked, gently tugging at her boyfriend’s shirt  
_”Why the hell not, it’s nothing you haven’t seen before”_ He told her. They’d been swimming plenty of times in the past, so she’d seen him topless plenty - not even counting the times she’d accidentally walked in on him without a shirt.

 _”But... Can I?”_ He proceeded to ask politely. The teenager in him desperately wanted to pull her shirt off, but the considerate boyfriend in him knew he needed to ask.  
_”Joyce always says there’s a first for everything”_ She responded with a devious smile _”Yes”_

Mike didn’t need to be told twice, once he’d placed his hands back on El after she’d removed his shirt, he started slowly pulling her shirt higher and higher until she moved her arms to allow for him to remove it fully.

 _”Wow”_ He gasped as he looked back down to continue after throwing her shirt down.

The couple continued, mainly with kissing and a few love bites before eventually stopping. They enjoyed it, but it was tiring work.

El opened her mouth to try to tell Mike how she felt, but he managed to beat her to it _”That was —“_  
_”Fucking excellent”_ Mike exclaimed, interrupting her.

 _”Couldn’t have said it better myself”_ El said  
_”You couldn’t say it, but you sure sounded like you enjoyed it”_ He grinned, casting El’s face a bright tone of red.

 _”You... You know you’re stunning, right?”_ Mike commented quietly, making El blush even harder than she already was. Even over the short time, both El and Mike were growing accustomed to seeing each other topless.

The couple just lay there next to each other, still topless, reading the comics from earlier until they heard the front door unlock. Both teenagers quickly dived towards their shirts, pulling them back on to make the illusion that nothing ever happened.

_Later_

_”Well, shall we get into bed? It’s getting late now”_ El asked, rubbing her eyes before looking at the clock.  
_”Yeah, but we should get changed first”_ Mike said, realising they were both still in their daywear.

 _”I can’t be bothered to go to the bathroom, can we just change in here?”_ El complained. She hadn’t really thought about it, she was just tired and wanted to cuddle down with Mike.

 _”Well, if we take it in turns and shut our eyes when the other is changing, yes”_ He told her. She thought back to earlier and what they’d now seen of each other and knew neither would have to shut their eyes for long.

 _”Me first?”_ The tired girl asked, moving towards her dresser to get some nightwear out. She quickly removed her top before turning around to remove her bra and then placing a new shirt on.  
_”I’ll turn around now. I won’t look, I promise“_ Mike assured her, as he faced the wall whilst closing his eyes before placing his hand over them as she began changing the rest of her clothes.

Even though Mike was incredibly respectful of his girlfriend, he was still a teenage boy, so had to resist all temptation to take a glance at her while she changed - especially after their performance earlier.

 _”I’m done. Your turn”_ El said as she tidied herself up. As Mike turned around and jumped up from the bed towards his bag, El took his place.  
He changed his top before looking back round.

 _”El, could you turn around please”_ He asked politely

When he’d confirmed she had turned around and didn’t seem as if she was going to turn back to look, he finished changing.

After he’d finished and given El the okay to look, he rejoined her on the bed. However as they were so tired they soon ended up in the bed.

 _”Can we try something new tonight?”_ He asked politely  
_”It depends, are we going to get in trouble for it?”_ El asked. She tried to be serious, but soon ended up giggling like a child.  
_”Oh no - certainly not! Come on, cuddle up to me and I’ll explain”_ Mike then assured his laughing girlfriend.

El did as she was told and positioned herself in the same way as in the previous nights.

 _”Roll yourself over”_ Mike then instructed her. She did and was met by Mike’s arms pulling her closer towards him. They eventually ended up in such a position that Mike was nearly wrapped around El.

She shuffled around a bit trying to get comfortable, but soon found a good spot where she still got the warmth of Mike.

 _”Mmm. That’s nice. I could get used to this”_ El said softly, pleasing Mike.  
_”I’m glad of it”_ He told her

 _”Night El”_ Mike whispered softly into her ear.  
_”Goodnight, Mike”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Constantly getting slain by the ambiguity of sleeping / slept together in this chapter


	23. Landslide (Part 2)

**Tuesday, 1986-04-07**

_”Mike, I hope you don’t mind, but a few of my friends from school are coming over for a bit today”_ Will said, taking Mike by surprise. He wasn’t expecting to have much company - the main purpose of his trip was to visit his girlfriend.

 _”That’s cool! Can I meet them?”_ Despite this, Mike agreed, he was always open to meeting new people.   
_”Sure, why not?”_ Will said, somewhere between excited and nervous

_A few hours later_

_”Mike, this is David, John and Phil”_ Will introduced _”David, John, Phil - meet Mike, my friend from Hawkins”_

 _”Hey, we’ve heard so much about you. It’s great to finally meet you”_ Phil excitedly told Mike. Phil loved a good story and had been told Mike had lots of stories from Hawkins.

 _”So, do you have an AV club at your school?”_ Mike asked as the group walked from the front door into the lounge.   
_”Of course, you’re speaking to the current chair of it”_ John informed Mike

 _”Cool, what equipment do you have?”_ An excited Mike asked. The second thing on his list of things he loved, after El - of course, was talking about the latest and greatest in AV technology.

The group, as most of them - bar David and El were part of the AV club, talked for what seemed like hours about what they had in their clubs and what they had at home. Eventually, discussion turned to Dustin’s Cerebro system and then to how Mike and El only saw each other every now and then and could only use radio or the telephone to communicate.

 _”Imagine only seeing your girlfriend every few months”_ Phil exclaimed _”I struggled when my girlfriend went to visit her grandparents for a month”_

 _”It’s not exactly brilliant, is it?”_ Mike told them, looking at El.   
_”It was hard going from seeing each other nearly every day to once every month or two”_ El agreed

 _”Imagine having a girlfriend”_ John exclaimed, causing the group to laugh awkwardly. El looked at Mike - she didn’t understand why that would be funny?

While Mike felt he got on with Phil and John, he thought something wasn’t right with David, so tried to come up with some excuse to get himself and El out of the room just in case the remarks became snide.

Luckily for Mike, it looked as if El was growing bored, so he used it as an excuse for them to slip away when the rest of the group went to make a drink.

 _”I feel sorry for them, I honestly do”_ Phil told the group whilst they got their drinks

 _”I bet they go at it like wolves when they meet”_ David laughed as the group of friends rejoined to sit down, making no attempt to keep his voice down so Mike didn’t hear him.

Unfortunately, El happened to be walking past, so accidentally overheard his comment. She stopped and listened in an attempt to understand what was being said.

 _”Not cool! That’s my sister you’re talking about”_ Will snapped back, making David shrug his shoulders.   
El didn’t understand why Will was so upset, so went off on her way, making a mental note to ask Mike to explain when they’d left.

 _”Where have they gone, anyway?”_ Phil asked, genuinely interested by Mike’s stories.   
_”Probably kissing”_ David continued taunting, this time making kissing noises. Will was visibly upset by this; truth be told, he wasn’t a huge fan of David, but they were both friends with Phil, so Will bit his lip and acquiesced.

Some time later, David, Phil and John decided that it was time to be heading home, so finished their drinks and got their stuff together before heading to the door.

 _”Hey El, Mike! Everyone’s leaving now: come say bye”_ Will shouted from the front door. Everyone soon heard the stairs creaking as Mike and El made their way down to bid farewell.

 _”It was nice to meet you”_ Phil said   
_”I agree”_ David added. He knew that Will would tell Mike exactly what was said, but didn’t care.   
_See you next week!”_ Will shouted as the group left the house.

 _”My god”_ Will sighed as he locked the door   
_”What’s wrong?”_ A confused Mike asked politely - as he didn’t understand and definitely didn’t want to hit a nerve.   
_”I’ll explain later”_ Will told Mike with an exasperated sigh. There was no way he’d say now with El around.

Luckily for Mike, El shortly after went off to do something, so Mike decided to ask Will what he was concerned about.

Will explained to Mike what David had said and how the group reacted (with a general sense of disgust)   
On the whole, Mike wasn’t too impressed that David said that about anyone - much less his girlfriend.

_Later_

_”Mike, what does ‘going at it like wolves’ mean?”_ El innocently asked out of the blue - which throughly caught Mike out.

 _”I’m sorry?”_ Mike asked, Will had told him what David had said, but neither knew that El had overheard. Quickly, Mike tried to establish how to explain to El without having to actually explain   
_”What do you mean? Where did you hear that?”_ He asked quickly.

 _”David said it earlier. Will got really angry afterwards, saying something about me and I want to know why”_ she explained

 _”I’m going to be honest”_ Mike said quietly. He was glad that Will had already told him, as it made discussing with El easier _”I don’t really want to explain it, just know it isn’t a polite thing to say”_

 _”But what did he mean? He said he ...”_ El began   
_”He thought we did that when we met?”_ Mike finished, confusing El.   
_”Will told me”_ Mike clarified, already knowing what her question was going to be before she opened her mouth.

 _”Mike, I get you might not want to explain what he meant, but I want to know - more so if it involves me”_ She reasoned

 _”It’s just... awkward... you know how it is”_ Mike agreed that she should know - there was no doubt about it, he just didn’t know if he wanted to be the person that had to explain sex to his girlfriend.   
_”I understand, but please”_ She pleaded quietly, realising he didn’t want to be heard.

 _”Fine.. This stays between me, you and Will okay?”_ He told her   
_”Sure - just explain, please”_ She quickly agreed - now wanting to know everything about what was said.

 _”From what I know about ‘Going at it like wolves‘ , and I don’t know much”_ He explained (with air quotes and all), before moving right up to El’s ear - the next few moments would be awkward because of being this close, but he didn’t want anyone else to hear what he was about to divulge.

 _”It means... sex”_ He sighed. El quickly replied with a brisk _”Oh”_ before going incredibly red (which Mike quickly went too)

 _”I think it means lots of it”_ He added, not making the situation any easier on himself.   
_”So he means he thinks that we have lots of —“_ El went to ask, before finding her mouth covered by Mike   
_”Shh. Quieten down”_ He whispered, he hoped keeping his voice at the level he wanted hers would encourage her to be less loud.

 _”You’re telling new he thinks we have lots it sex when we see each other”_ She whisper-shouted angrily.   
_”I guess so?”_ Mike attempted to reason

 _”But we don’t? We haven’t even talked about it yet!”_ She said angrily.

 _”I get the feeling we should after this?”_ Mike proposed, making sure to explain himself as to not come across as desperate _”Not as in having it, but it’s good to talk about these things”_   
_”I understand, we are getting older now after all”_ El added, before looking as if she’d gone into deep thought.

 _”Wait, why is he interested in what we do in private? It’s none of his bus-in-ess?”_ El asked, struggling with a relatively new word.   
_”I wish I could answer, but I’ve no idea - maybe we should speak to Will”_ Mike said; David was Will’s ‘friend’ after all: maybe Will knew something. Inside, Mike knew there was a possibility of being told something he didn’t want to hear.

Mike got up and left the room to go and get Will, leaving El to ponder what had been said.   
Before Mike and Will rejoined El, they had a chat to try and work out their course of action.

Eventually, they decided that Will would try to help them understand David’s comment but would leave all other discussion to Mike and El, which he thought was fair.

 _”Hey El, are you alright?”_ Will asked as he entered her bedroom   
_”Confused”_ she replied

 _”Don’t worry, we’ll try to understand“_ Will told her. She nodded in response before patting the bed to tell them to sit down.

The group sat discussing for a while trying to understand. Was he trying to crack a funny? It sure wasn’t crack-a-funny-Friday, it wasn’t even funny!

Then, however, Mike had a thought. The idea concerned him, which only made him want to ask more.

 _”I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but has he ever expressed an... interest in El?”_ Mike asked. Inside, he had a feeling that the cause would’ve been sparked by him having an interest in El, more the reason to be angry.

 _”Now that you say that... he did once say he thought you were —hot...”_ Will slowly said, attempting to remember   
_”Fuck me”_ Mike responded with a sigh. He was angry, but somewhat happy that they’d found the root cause of the comment.

 _”But, I’m with Mike?”_ El said   
_”He doesn’t care”_ Will told her   
_”I’d try to stay away from him if I were you”_ Mike recommended. Will nodded his head - usually, he wouldn’t recommend just trying to stay away, but it made the most sense for El.

After El agreed, Will concluded his work was done so headed back to his room

 _”Well”_ El said quietly, locking her door _”That talk you mentioned earlier...”_   
_”Sure”_ Mike nervously responded.

**Thursday, 1986-04-09**

Mike and El were, as usual, sat on El’s bed trying to think of something to do with their day.   
El was looking down, deep in thought when she realised Mike was staring at her.   
_”Mike, what are you doing?”_ She asked, catching him by surprise.

 _”Oh! Shit! Sorry”_ He scrambled, trying to figure out what was going on.   
_”I got lost in your eyes”_ He explained. He wasn’t sure why, but he did.

 _”See anything interesting?”_ She joked. Mike looked serious, however.

 _”In the middle of your eyes I see you long for the summer.”_ Mike said softly, slightly catching El by surprise.   
_”When all the time in the world was yours, and the rest never mattered”_

 _”I don’t understand fully? I get you’re saying I can’t wait for the summer though”_ El wondered _”You’re right though, the summer will be great.”_

 _”Well, we spent so much time together last summer - I know you want to do it again; just without all the falling apart”_ Mike then explained. The mere thought of them falling apart again caused El to get hugely upset. Being separated most of the year had put their relationship on the edge, but they’d survived it so far - they weren’t letting go now.

 _”I can see through the middle of your sorry eyes...”_ He then began saying, but had to take a moment as he was beginning to get upset and could see El was too _”That saying goodbye don’t mean what it used to”_   
_”But god I wish it still did”_ He added quickly in an attempt to console her.

 _”I wish; I really do wish that we could go back to how we were”_ She responded with a sigh. She didn’t want to go through the heartache again, but she did want to be able to spend the whole summer with him again.

 _”It might not be what it used to be, but I still struggle deep into the night”_ El reminded him.   
She’d gotten into the habit of talking to Mike the morning after having a night terror, which made her much more calm for the rest of the day rather than waiting to speak to him.

 _”I know, it pains me so much when you tell me about it. I’m just glad you have Will here to help you”_ Mike told her, having previously made a point of talking to Will too after El’s night terrors just to get another perspective as to how upset she was.   
_”You’re right, he helps me loads, but I can’t shake it off.”_ El admitted, although Mike knew it already.

 _”Yeah, we just have to be strong. No matter what happens —”_   
_”We can get through anything now”_ El finished, before leaning in to kiss Mike.


	24. Masterpiece Theatre III

**Monday 1986-04-13**

When Mike eventually woke up, still tired from Saturday’s travelling, he got himself ready for the day before heading downstairs for breakfast - or more accurately, lunch.

As he made his way to the kitchen, he walked past the calendar. The calendar that would tell him when his next visit to El would be.   
He flipped the pages slowly - desperately hoping it wouldn’t be too long.

As he made his way through, he thought back to the last time he’d done this. When he had to break it to El that they wouldn’t see each other for nearly 4 months.

**January 1986**

_”I found out when my next school break is”_ Mike told her. He was stood next to the phone in his basement with a scraggly slip of paper that had been scribbled over so he wouldn’t forget the dates.

Quickly, she got excited. Her excitement was premature, however...   
_”April”_

 _”Okay... Alright...”_ El replied sadly. She was looking forward to seeing Mike in a month or two, not four. _”I didn’t expect that long away”_

 _”I know, I’m sure we can make it through”_ He assured her

 _”Of course we can”_ She responded with a hint of forced enthusiasm.

 _”El... Come on”_ Mike groaned. He loved talking to his girlfriend more than anything, but always found breaking news to her hard.

 _”I take it hard too - I know it's hard to take”_ He told her  
  


 _”Mike?”_ he heard a quiet voice ask... it didn’t sound like El, but he couldn’t put his finger on who it was

 _”Mike, are you even listening?”_ It was his mother. He quickly assured her that yes, he was listening - even though he knew she saw straight through him.   
_”I haven’t got around to writing your next holiday in yet if that’s what you’re looking for“_

 _”Oh, do you know when it is?”_ he asked   
_”Mid June?”_ Mike continued to have recollections of January, although he knew it would be easier this time - being just shy of 2 months instead of 4.

 _”Thanks mom”_ He said, continuing on his way for food.

**Thursday, 1986-04-16**

It was Thursday; El knew what that meant - it meant having to be near David. Will knew it too, but both knew that there wasn’t much they could do bar exercising some caution.

Somehow, at some point, Will’s concentration slipped, leaving David alone with El.

At first, David kept the conversation plain - talking about TV, the weather, the local area — Hawkins... Mike...

 _”So that’s how it is? You get separated, somebody’s gone, and — and you don’t care?”_ David asked.   
_”And? I don’t know how this is wrong?”_ El asked politely in response to his obvious dismay.

 _”And‽ You need someone who’s there for you constantly”_ He said

 _”But Mike is always there for me?”_ El argued. She didn’t understand why he was so angry. She just wished that Mike had been near to help her.

 _”He isn’t though, is he?”_ David said angrily, waving his arm around _”He’s halfway across the fucking country!”_

 _”So, what are you suggesting?”_ She asked. Inside, she knew she wasn’t going to agree with his suggestions, but knew it would be safer to just listen for now.

 _”Break up with Mike, and get with someone who is here for you”_ David suggested egotistically. He didn’t give one shit about Mike, he just wanted El all to himself.

 _”Like who?”_ By now, El had mostly managed to tune his mindless ranting out, and was focused on keeping herself safe like Will and Mike told her to, just in case he tried anything.   
_”Like me‽ I’d be so good to you”_ He snapped in response.

 _”Look, I’m sorry, but I don’t like you in that way”_ Quickly, El shut him down, but he wasn’t done just yet

 _”C’mon”_ He pleaded.   
_”No! Mike is my boyfriend; Get used to it”_ El told him blankly.

 _”Fine! Fuck this!”_ He said, storming out of the room. The commotion caused Will and his friends, who were covertly listening from nearby, and had been since he realised what was happening, to run over to El to check up on her.

 _”Don’t worry - We heard everything.”_ Will assured his panicking sister. Slowly, Phil and John left the room to try to calm David down.

 _”One moment”_ He paused before getting up, realising that David was now looking for him. The group had mysteriously decided to leave and were waiting for Will to say goodbye.

El sat around in her room, mostly feeling sorry for herself. She didn’t know what to do. She could try to ignore David, but he’d just pester her.

Meanwhile, Mike sat around in his basement - also bored. He’d done his homework, he’d played Atari., he’d read his comics. He even cleaned his room!

If El hadn’t moved away then he would’ve been speaking to her on the SuperCom. That one thought caused him to spiral into many other thoughts; Eventually ending up with a picture of them together in his hands.

 _”So here’s another day I’ll spend away from you, wondering what you’re doing”_ Mike said quietly, holding his picture of El close. Suddenly, Mike felt something. Something touching his shoulder. Something whispering in his ear.

 _”No? Really‽ You’ve got to be fucking joking me!”_   
El had now regained enough of her powers to be able to visit Mike, and on top of that had worked on her ability to make basic contact through the void.   
_”El, are you there?”_

 _”I am right beside you Mike”_   
It was muffled and hard to distinguish; there was no proof - not much, really, but it was better than nothing. He knew she was there.

 _”El”_ Mike whispered, placing his arms out in front of him _”Touch my left hand for yes and right hand for no”_   
Immediately he felt her touch his left hand: she understood!

 _”Was your day good?”_   
She touched both hands. Mike took this to mean that her say was merely okay.

 _”It was okay? Not too good, not too bad?”_   
He felt her touching his left hand.

 _”Did something happen?”_ He warily asked.   
She signalled yes

Suddenly, he realised what day it was... The day Will’s friends were visiting again. _”David?”_ he spoke quietly, trying to ensure he kept a cool.

Another yes.

 _”I’ll call you, be near the phone”_ Mike said.   
And with that, he disappeared. Gone to dust. El quickly pulled her blindfold off and placed her hand ready over the phone.

While she prepared herself, Mike was proceeding with Dustin’s method to get in contact with her.

When the phone rang shortly later, she answered it as fast as her arm allowed. _”Mike?”_   
_”El?”_ Mike excitedly asked _”Did that just happen?”_

 _”Yes! How are you?”_ El replied, happy from knowing they had a new way to communicate. It was devilishly stressful on El, but it worked in times of need.

 _Well, I was bored, then you showed up, so I’m fine I guess. I don’t know how I’m going to feel soon though; so what happened?”_ he asked.

 _”We somehow ended up alone”_ She said, soon explaining it was an accident and that they only talked.   
_”He told me to break up with you and—“_   
_”And? Let me guess: get with him?”_ Mike guessed angrily. El managed a yes

 _”Don’t worry, we’ll sort it”_ He assured her before stopping to think. He was considering the best way to stop El being left alone with David.   
_”Will knows I guess?”_

 _”He heard everything. So did Phil and John. They said they’d help”_ El told her worried boyfriend. Even over the phone, it was obvious that Mike had relaxed slightly, happy in the knowledge that multiple people knew about David’s behaviour.

 _”Good, in that case, leave it with me. I’ll make it all perfect again”_ he assured his worried girlfriend. He didn’t really know what he could do to stop David - so his only hope was Will.

The couple talked for some more time before El was called downstairs to do chores.   
While she was busy, Mike decided to speak to Will about El and David. They too talked for some time before Will put the phone down because El was nearby.

**Sunday 1986-04-19**

_“Hey El, are you there?”_ Mike chirped after asking Joyce to pass the phone to El.   
_”I’m here - how are you?”_

 _”I’m good, mostly - I can’t believe I have school tomorrow!”_ He said reasonably happily.   
_”Time goes quick when you’re having fun, Mike”_ El giggled   
_”It sure does - is everything all good with you?”_

 _”Yeah — yeah, everything’s fine”_ she lied, neglecting to tell him about her conversation with Will the day prior.

 _”El, are you alright? It sounded like you were crying?”_ Will asked worriedly   
_”I’m fine, I’m fine”_ She insisted, but Will wasn’t having any of it

 _”I can take it if you need to take it out on someone”_ Will jumped to assure his sister.

 _”El - tell me the truth. What’s been going on?”_ Mike asked. The couple had now been together for so long that they just knew when something was wrong. This was most certainly one of those times.

 _”Will and I were talking earlier about David and Hawkins and how this place feels like home”_ she explained

 _”Are you going to move back to Hawkins in the future?”_ Will asked

 _”I want to move back eventually to be with Mike, but sometimes...”_ El responded   
_”Sometimes it just feels like I’ve been here so long and I can never go back home again”_

 _”I get you - it is starting to feel like home now”_ Will eventually agreed after a somewhat long silence.

 _”W-W-What are you saying? Aren’t you coming back eventually?”_ Her boyfriend panicked   
_”Yes, I’ll come back - of course I will”_ She promised

 _”So what do you mean then?”_ The confused boy asked before hearing his girlfriend sigh.   
His hopes were through the floor - he had no idea what she was going to tell him.

 _”Mike, I love you, and I’m not sick of you yet...”_ She rushed out, unsure of how to explain her emotions.   
_”I love Hawkins, but I love it here, and part of me wants to stay right here forever”_

 _”But then, at the same time, It’s... It’s difficult — with all stuff with David—“_ El admitted with a tear in her eye.

 _”Yeah”_ Mike agreed softly, wanting to allow her to figure out her emotions.

 _”I’m sorry, I just need a minute - I just need a breath”_ She spoke, sounding as if she was close to tears.   
_”I understand, it must be difficult for you”_ Mike said

El’s next words pleased Mike. They assured him that she felt the same as him - that she wanted everything to go back to how it was.   
_”I don’t know how it got this way?”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, after getting on for 7 months of work, this book is finished. I have something in the pipeline for after season 4 and maybe even more further into the future.


End file.
